Consider the senior who has limited mobility and has to take two buses to get weekly groceries. Imagine a single mom working two minimum wage jobs to make ends meet. She wants to feed her kids a decent meal but doesn’t know how to cook or have time. These are real life situations, faced regularly by those we assist. For many, there are a variety of barriers to consuming healthy diets.
To address these issues, the Capital Area Food Bank recently teamed up with a local produce company, Washington’s Green Grocer, to deliver high quality, fresh produce to seniors, mothers and working families in Ward 8. Weekly boxes brimming with fresh fruits and vegetables are delivered to two of our partner organizations in Ward 8, the Overlook at Oxon Run and Higher Ground Regeneration Church. These partners distribute the produce boxes with recipes on how to use the ingredients.
Already, recipients are raving about the variety, quality, and freshness of the produce. One participant commented, “This box is so welcome especially since my SNAP (food stamp) benefits have recently been cut.” One coordinator remarked, “Our clients are not used to receiving such high quality [produce].”
Support from Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States has allowed the Capital Area Food Bank to creatively source fresh produce and distribute it in conjunction with educational, outreach or capacity building activities. It is the Capital Area Food Bank’s theory that access to healthy food combined with nutrition education maximizes the value of the food. However, through our partnership with Green Grocer, we are discovering that convenience might be as important a factor in increasing consumption of healthy food.
We are so grateful to our friends at Washington’s Green Grocer whose support and generosity has helped to make this project a success.