Farm partners with the Boys and Girls Club to get fresh food to children

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – A local farm launched a new project Monday helping to feed the community.

That farm is doing their part in helping families impacted by COVID-19 by helping prioritize accessibility to fresh food.

Fruits and veggies, a part of the food pyramid, the CDC says, most Americans are not getting enough of.

But Need More Acres Farm is teaming with the Boys and Girls Club of Bowling Green to try to bridge that gap for local children.

According to Michelle Howell of Need More Acres Farm, this is a big issue, especially in rural Kentucky.

“There’s two different things happening right now. One is, when COVID-19 happened, we realized Kentucky has all of the risk factors when it comes to what can make COVID-19 more severe in somebody. That is diabetes, obesity, cardio-vascular disease. So, we know that we as Kentuckians need to have better access to fresh fruits and vegetables. The second thing that’s happening is that people are finding themselves in different situations that are making it more difficult for them to afford groceries or get to the grocery store and have access to fresh food,” said Howell.

Liz Bernard, CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Bowling Green, is excited to see the partnership begin.

“The pre-packaged, easy access stuff is usually the bad stuff, right? It’s also less expensive so there are two barriers right there to healthy foods so getting healthy foods in the hands of those kids who may face those barriers is just critical. We want to offer them snacks but give them the most wholesome, healthy snacks that they can get,” said Bernard.

This week, the kids got sliced zucchini and squash in their deliveries along with an educational worksheet.

“What the taste testings do is it gives kids a small sample of a fruit and vegetable and by adding the education in, it makes them more likely to at least try it and oftentimes they are surprised that they do like it,” said Howell.

The delivery is sent along with the weekly meals delivered by the Boys and Girls Club to over 160 local kids.

This program is set to continue throughout July.