POP-UPS CROP UP TO FILTER FOOD TO THOSE IN NEED
Innovative markets provide fresh products, health services — and a sense of community
A new program distributing fresh produce and food in low-income communities is bringing neighborhoods together and encouraging the poor to take ownership over their health and well-being.
In the past year, Buncombe County Health and Human Services has seen tremendous growth with its pop-up markets, an innovative approach to addressing food insecurity, while connecting the underserved to one another and area service providers.
“This helps people get through the month,” said Sharon Leverett, 65, a volunteer with the program and a resident at Bartlett Arms Apartments. “It feels good to help our own.”
In low-income communities, residents who qualify for federal food assistance can “shop” for groceries donated by MANNA Food Bank in biweekly farmers market style settings.
Food is provided for free and participants are introduced to other community services, such as blood pressure and weight monitoring, said Marian Arledge, a public health specialist with Buncombe County Health and Human Services.
Future markets will include a mobile dental clinic, immunizations and educational components specifically requested by each neighborhood, she added.
“It’s not just about serving food; it’s about bringing people together, creating a sense of community — a warm, comfortable place where people can learn about benefits and programs available to them,” Arledge said.
Since its inception in February 2014, the program has more than doubled the number of households it reaches, Arledge said.
The pop-up markets helped distribute 109,000 pounds of food — more than 92,000 meals — in 2014. Those numbers are going to increase dramatically this year, she said.
“The markets just keep growing and growing,” Arledge said. “As other communities and other people in the area see what a successful model it could be, we have been naturally expanding our capacity.”
With a market added at Aston Park Tower this month, there are six pop-up markets serving around 500 households.
Markets can be found at Pisgah View Apartments, the Dr. Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Center, Bartlett Arms Apartments, Deaverview Apartments and the Shiloh Center.
The initiative is driven by the Buncombe County Community Service Navigators Program. Navigators are hired by the county to work in low-income neighborhoods and connect people to resources and benefits. In each neighborhood, navigators recruit volunteers to set up the markets and inform residents about the resource.
“(Volunteers) check on the elderly and their neighbors. They make sure everyone has something to eat,” said Rasheeda McDaniels, pop-up market pro- gram coordinator.
More than 50 volunteers are involved with the pop-up markets.
“I like being able to give back to my community,” said volunteer Janie Myers, 55, a resident at Bartlett Arms Apartments. “I’m so grateful to have this and to be a part of something.”
Various community groups also participate in the program. The Asheville Police Department has helped distribute food. The
“I’m so grateful to have this and to be a part of something.”
Janie Myers,
Housing Authority, Mission Hospital, the Asheville Buncombe Institute of Parity Achievement and the SPARC Network also are involved in the program.
The markets were added to the Navigator program in 2014 in response to high rates of food insecurity. More than 107,000 people sought food assistance from 16 Western North Carolina counties in 2013, according to the Hunger in America Western North Carolina 2014 Report.
Four out of five households needing support were living on less than $20,000 a year; 75% of people polled said they were choosing between paying for food or paying for utilities, according to the study done by MANNA Food Bank and Feeding America.
The traditional model of pantries giving out food in boxes is limiting, said Katy German, agency relations manager for MANNA, which distributes food to about 500 community partners throughout Western North Carolina.
The pop-up market program can change things, she said.
“When we think about the future of food insecurity work — what will take the most advantage of our community resources and help the people who need it the most — we are looking to programs like this that are innovative, flexible and community minded,” German said. “We really feel like this approach is the future for us, and we would love to see it grow.”
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