The Berrien Community Foundation is teaming up with the Nutrition Exchange of Southwest Michigan for a new program to help Berrien County residents enjoy the best of local agriculture while contributing to a good cause.
The BCF’s Susan Matheny tells us they’re launching the For Good Produce Project, open to anyone.
“Folks in the community can purchase a season subscription for these bi-weekly boxes of the freshest produce Southwest Michigan has to offer,” Matheny said. “So, from several different farms all over our region here.”
70% of the proceeds of these box sales will go toward stocking community food pantries. Matheny says they’ll have four pickup locations where clients can receive their food boxes, which will be a bit of a grab bag.
“Every week it’ll be different, and so it’s going to depend upon what’s the freshest and best available. So it is sort of based on what’s growing well and what’s ready at the time. So it will be different each week, and you won’t really know what’s in it ahead of time.”
Anyone can sign up for a subscription by May 27, and then the first pickup takes place on June 3, just as the season’s fresh produce hits its stride. The pickups will continue every other week through mid-October.
Matheny says the Nutrition Exchange of Southwest Michigan works to provide better health outcomes in the region via better food distribution, and the BCF wanted to help.
“Folks can buy the fresh fruits and vegetables from the many amazing farms we have right here in our backyard. So it’s as fresh as it can be. And then we could also use the funds to help make sure that those same kind of produce are available to folks who need to go and get some help from a food pantry or who are receiving those senior meals and delivered from Meals on Wheels.”
The food boxes will come in various sizes, depending on the needs of member households. Learn more about the For Good Produce Project right here.
