We launched Nourishing Neighbors in 2020 with the goal of feeding our community during the pandemic. The opportunity to help our community remain resilient in the face of grocery store shortages and financial hardship brought us the unexpected privilege of deepening our relationships with local families and incredible organizations fighting food insecurity throughout our region.
Over the past nearly 2 years, these relationships have brought us fresh insight into how we can improve this program to better serve our community. As a result, we are making some changes to how Nourishing Neighbors operates.
Going forward, we are shifting our offering from weekly boxes of produce and pantry goods to fresh, pre-made meals. With the help of local volunteers, our culinary crew will cook a big batch of rice, beans, greens and vegetables harvested from our Regenerative Organic Certified™ farm, and pack these meals into 32-ounce jars for distribution to our Nourishing Neighbors families each week. During meal pickup, families will also have an opportunity to freely pick whatever they’d like from an additional supply of surplus produce harvested that week.
These changes offer significant upgrades for both our farm model and for the community we serve:
1. One of the major drivers for Nourishing Neighbors is conscious use of our farm surplus. By diverting the overabundance of our weekly harvest to this program, we’re able to better minimize food waste while also feeding our community.
2. Pre-made meals offer additional convenience for Nourishing Neighbors families, saving them a night of planning and cooking with simple heat-and-serve meals.
3. Inviting these families to select additional veggies and fruits for themselves, based on their own needs and preferences, brings better balance to the food assistance model by enabling a sense of autonomy and empowerment over their own nourishment.
With your help, we’ve built this program from an emergency relief model to one that serves over 120 families in our community each and every week. By reaching out to nourish our neighbors in need, we’ve been rewarded by the joy of seeing our Village expand with active participation from these families. It’s a powerful new experience of what it means to be a community farm, and it’s all the result of your commitment to building a regenerative culture.
Help us expand our capacity to nourish those in need with a donation to Nourishing Neighbors. Each $32 gift provides meals for 2 families of 4. Your support is key to building a resilient community and ensuring that everyone has access to the nourishment they deserve.
Special thanks to the following partners for supporting a more equitable food system:
