Hartford Food System provided Hartford neighborhoods and families with a yearly increase of 25% in fresh fruits and vegetables.
Hartford, CT, May 2, 2017 — Hartford Food System has announced the first-year impact of its 2016 Harvard Pilgrim Foundation Healthy Food Fund grant. Based on an independent evaluation, Hartford Food System increased the amount of local produce available and sold to the Hartford families it serves by 25% over the same period the previous year.
The Hartford Mobile Market joins farmers’ markets and other retailers as a consistent and important factor in the community’s food system.
“Since 2015, the Hartford Mobile Market has been able to make fresh fruits and vegetables available in many Hartford neighborhoods where it is not always easy to get fresh food,” said Martha Page, Executive Director of Hartford Food System. “Thanks to the founding financial support of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation, we were able to launch the Mobile Market and their ongoing funding makes it possible for Hartford Food System to offer produce to thousands of community members, helping to ensure healthier mealtimes in Hartford households.*
In total, the amount of healthy, local produce distributed to low-income families in the region increased 87 percent as a result of Harvard Pilgrim Foundation’s Healthy Food Fund contributions, and the amount of produce sold increased 63 percent to 827,000 pounds. The total dollar value of healthy food reaching households in communities across the region in 2016 was $2.2 million.
Of the 26 Healthy Food Fund projects in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, 17 are selling healthy local food through Farmers’ Markets, Mobile Markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, and farm stands. A total of 20 are distributing produce through free-to-recipient channels such as gleaning, food banks, community meals, and youth agriculture programs.
“We are so pleased we can show how relatively small investments in local organizations can measurably improve access to healthy food,” according to the Harvard Pilgrim Foundation’s President, Karen Voci.