Get Growin' for Food Gatherers!>> Faith and Food | Plant a Row for the Hungry | The Gathering Farm

Get Growin' for Food Gatherers!

Read about our growing initiatives to connect local produce to low-income individuals and families: deep roots in our community (pdf)

In our recent Food Security Report , funded by the United Way of Washtenaw County, The Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation and the Knight Foundation, we found that cost (not preference, not access) is the single biggest barrier to healthy eating.

Some key findings from the report (based on a September 2008 survey of 447 households using Food Gatherers' network of food pantries):

• Most households are seriously impoverished. 85% of households report incomes of less than $500 per month per household member
• Children are at higher risk. Families with children have an overwhelming rate of food insecurity (92%) with parents frequently saying they skip meals and make portions smaller to make food last longer.
• Healthy eating is too expensive. Seven of eight pantry customers do NOT eat the 5 recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Overwhelmingly, pantry users cited the high cost of fresh fruits and vegetables as the primary obstacle to making healthy food purchases.
• If you earn less than $35K per year, you have twice the likelihood of having high cholesterol, and are 73% more likely to have been diagnosed with diabletes. (Washtenaw County HIP survey 2005)

We need your help!

You can help us share healthy food resources with low-income people in our community:

• Faith and Food was created in 2009 in response to the historic faith-based efforts to address hunger in our community. Food Gatherers has always relied on donations of fresh produce for distribution to those in need, and started a coordinated campaign to encourage congregations to start a Faith and Food garden, or continue/expand a current garden. Each faith garden is asked to devote at least 50% of their garden for donation to Food Gatherers; the remainder may also be donated, shared or sold among the congregation. Most gardens are located on-site but some congregations gather items from their home or community gardens for collective donation. For more information, please click here

• Plant a Row for the Hungry Nationally sponsored by the Garden Writers' Association, Plant-A-Row encourages gardeners to grow a little extra to donate to food banks. You can also donate any surplus of fresh garden produce, even if it wasn't originally planted for donation! For more information, please click here

  

• The Gathering Farm To contribute to our goal of increasing our supply of healthy produce for low-income people, Food Gatherers broke ground on a new "Gathering Farm" in 2009. Food Gatherers' traditional method of food procurement is completely reliant on unpredictable donations and relatively costly purchases. Producing a portion of our own food enables us to be a more reliable and consistent donor of healthy food to our nonprofit partners throughout Washtenaw County. For more information, please click here

• Make a donation to support our food security work! Whether or not you are able to grow food to donate, you can still play a vital role in supporting these and other programs that connect healthy food resources to those in need. You can donate to a specific initiative, or let us put the donation where it is needed most. For more information, please click here

Ongoing partnerships and initiatives to connect healthy food to those in need:

Edible Avalon

http://edibleavalon.ning.com/

Avalon Housing provides supportive housing to 500 people who often rely on Food Gatherers' sponsored hot meals and pantries. To increase the amount of healthy produce available to Avalon residents, Project Grow worked with Avalon in 2009 to pilot a supportive gardening model on five Avalon Housing sites where folks were encouraged and provided with technical support to grow their own vegetables for consumption.

The goals of the Edible Avalon program are to:
- Make fresh organic food accessible to urban apartment dwellers
- Teach new skills in growing, preparing, and preserving food
- Catalyze individual growth, mentoring, and leadership
- Build community & create common ground for tenants & neighbors

Prescription for Health

Grant funding allowed Food Gatherers to contribute to the expansion of this program in 2009. The succesful pilot begun in 2008 allowed Washtenaw County Public Health to encourage healthy eating and access to the Downtown Ypsilanti Farmer's Market.

The program partners with health clinics to "prescribe" fruits and vegetables through tokens redeemable only at the market. This particular Farmer's Market, managed by Growing Hope, also accepts Food Stamps, Project Fresh and Senior Project Fresh. Our analysis of the Food Security Study found alarmingly high rates of food insecurity, especially among families with children.

Read more: here