Feed Families in Appalachian Ohio

• We've distributed more than 72,000 pounds of nourishing local food to those facing food insecurity;
• We've invested $10,000 in our local food economy, supporting the people who grow our food;
• Almost 2000 volunteer hours have been served with CFI;
• We hosted 7 brilliant AmeriCorps volunteers and 7 brilliant student interns;
• We're back in classrooms sharing the joy of gardening and our beautiful outdoor world with kids as young as preschool;
• We expanded Veggie Van to serve three communities weekly, reaching a total of 1,600 customers and sharing over 17,000 pounds of food. 

Links:

• Our website!
• Our Linktree!

We at Community Food Initiatives are so grateful to generous donors like you who make our work possible. We’d like to share some of the ways your contributions are supporting our team to Feed Families in Appalachian Ohio!

Did you know that every year, donors like you empower us to distribute 100,000 pounds of local produce to families in need? It takes a lot of hands to move all that food! From coordinating our produce purchases at the Athens Farmers Market and Chesterhill Produce Auction, to working the donation plots in our community gardens and bringing local food to folks in need through our Veggie Van, our COMCorps service members work tirelessly to turn your generous donations into food in the hands of our community! This year, we’re so grateful that we had the opportunity to host Raya Abner, Alex Armstrong, and Sonya Ferrier for their COMCorps term of service. Together, this amazing crew served 5100 hours over the course of 11 wild months. They joined CFI in August of 2020 (mid-pandemic), and their laughter, energy, creativity, sweat, muscle, smiles, knowledge, love, and compassion got us through the year! Though we’re sad to say goodbye to Sonya and Alex, we’re excited to share that Raya will be spending another year with us as the Garden Programs Coordinator! Check out some snapshots of this wonderful crew below as we celebrate their year spent growing and sharing the harvest in Appalachian Ohio.

After spending the winter months planning, organizing and surveying community members, our Veggie Van mobile market is up and running on a new, expanded schedule! This summer, the Van is making weekly stops in Glouster, Coolville and Nelsonville, as well as pop-up stops in Amesville, Chauncey and Trimble! Operating on a pay-what-you-can model, folks living in these rural communities can receive fresh, local produce at little to no cost. In addition to healthy food, we are also providing recipes to help folks utilize the produce they pick up at the Van! All local tomatoes, sweet corn, peaches, beets, strawberries and blackberries are just a few summer favorites that we feature. Check out some photos below of the beautiful produce and delicious recipes you can find at the Veggie Van this summer! Our expansion of the Veggie Van would not have been possible without the generous donations of people like you - thank you!

This summer has been one of joy in sharing the bounty with our community, and I hope this update has given you a glimpse into the multitude of ways you are supporting us to Feed Families in Appalachian Ohio. Thank you.

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Links:

• Follow us on Facebook!
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• Check out our Website!

We at CFI are so grateful for our invaluable partnership with generous donors like you. Because of your commitment to our mission, in 2020, our Donation Station is serving more than 12 new partner agencies. As of November 1, 2020, we have distributed 131,000 lbs. of local food - that's 50,000 lbs. more than in all of 2019! 

Thanks to our donors, we have been able to hire a Donation Station Coordinator. This new staff member supports the operations of the Donation Station, and works with the DS Director to expand the capacity of our food distribution and meet increased needs during COVID. 

The pilot of our Veggie Van mobile market in Glouster is flourishing, and CFI plans to expand its reach to several more Southeast Ohio communities in the coming year. In 2021, communities that struggle with access to healthy food will be met with readily available fresh and local produce through CFI. 

To top off a successful year of feeding our community, our Donation Station Director, Susie Huser, was awarded the 2020 Golden Apple Award through the Creating Healthy Communities Coalition. Susie was recognized for all of her hard work with CFI distributing (literally!) tons of food throughout the pandemic. We are lucky to have her on our team!

CFI is so grateful for the support we have received this past year as we've worked harder than ever to grow and share the harvest throughout the pandemic. As we look toward the new year, we will continue to count on our members and supporters to meet the increased needs of food insecure communities during COVID, expand the Veggie Van, and fund new staff to increase the capacity of our programs.

We are so excited to continue partnering with you in the new year to fulfill our shared vision of creating and sustaining a more just and equitable food system in Appalachian Ohio! 

Links:

• http://communityfoodinitiatives.org

Donation Station has been having a great year so far despite COVID-19 affecting a lot of what we do. COVID made us change the way we do things and those changes are requiring extra time and person power, but we've also experienced a totally amazing outpouring of community support and a general shift in awareness of the importance of providing access to healthy food that also supports our local food system and economy.

At this time last year, we had only distributed around 30,000 pounds of fresh local produce, and so far this year we've distributed 53,175.00 pounds! It is quite amazing what an increase we have been experiencing in supporting the in the local economy. We have also been able to increase the outreach to pantries we reach in Perry, Meigs, and Washington Counties. There has been an increase in serving new families, with case workers and public libraries coming together to ensure those families that need are getting fresh foods.

Finally, we are piloting our Veggie Van in Glouster, OH, which is a mobile market bringing fresh local foods to underserved areas of Southeast Ohio. Rather than being a traditional produce stand, it has a “pay it forward” model. Instead of selling produce, we have a suggested donation amount that individuals can pay so that it increases access to those who don’t have the ability to pay. 

We are super excited that despite external challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, we have been able to increase our reach in Southeast Ohio!