A Healthy Community 

Our neighborhood markets have weathered many storms with our community. In Q1 of 2019, with the government shutdown, we saw a spike in families who needed extra help to make ends meet. At other times over the years, folks in our community have hit hard times and by having the Green for Greens fund, we’ve been able to help them find food and connection til they get back on their feet.

2020 has been our biggest challenge yet. When the pandemic hit, we created a Corner Pick Up pre-order system and provided sales venues for farms who saw their usual customer connections shut down overnight. We could provide meat when there was none in the grocery store and our farmers planted more food than ever. In March, when COVID closed our schools and so many were suddenly out of work, SNAP enrollment skyrocketed and our neighbors came to us for help. Our community has rallied and raised over $26,000 to fund the Green for Greens program in 2020. When matched with USDA SNAP dollars, that means more than $50,000 in nutritive foods for our neighbors in need — and a $50,000 investment in local farms and food producers.

Currently our program is matching more than $750 in SNAP dollars each week to feed our neighbors. We project that our current reserves will take us to about the fourth of July. As many of us look forward to planning the first backyard barbeque or beach vacation in over a year, we fear that we will be unable to help our neighbors for whom economic recovery has yet to arrive.

A donation to the Green for Greens fund impacts so many while staying right in our community and building food security for all. Please, if you can, make a tax-deductible donation today. And if you need help, know that your community is here for you.