Access to fresh is a recipe for success

Fresh, nutritious food is a key ingredient in any recipe for living a well-balanced life.

For many, gathering a bounty of fruits and vegetables to prepare a hearty, healthy meal is as simple as stepping outside into a backyard garden, or taking a short drive to the grocery store where a plethora of tasty edibles in all colors of the rainbow await in the produce aisle.

But in those communities across the nation where food resources are limited and income levels are low, dinnertime spreads are often not nearly as robust.

It’s a problem Jennifer Jensen, a certified community health worker at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield, has seen continue to grow - particularly in the nearby neighborhood of Thurston.

“Lack of access to healthy, fresh fruits and vegetables has been proven to increase the risks of obesity and diseases linked to obesity like heart disease and diabetes,” she said. “One of the biggest challenges I face is helping individuals and families who have low incomes and/or on [the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program], or using food boxes, try to put together the healthiest meals possible based on their medical condition.”

Eager to help nurture a solution, Jennifer, a Thurston resident, took a seat at the table with a group of local leaders working to take the availability of fresh food in the community from withering to flourishing.

A $4,000 Food, Education Agriculture, Solutions, Together (FEAST) grant from the Oregon Food Bank gave the effort a boost.

“FEAST is an organizing tool to build community food security,” said Tracy Gagnon, the non-profit’s community food systems developer. “The idea is that community members are in the best position to understand their needs and create change.”

In an effort to cultivate ideas, a community conversation – served up with a scrumptious, locally sourced meal – was held at Thurston High School. It drew a diverse group of activists including farmers, youth, the homeless, elderly, faith leaders and parents.

“[Ideas that] rose to the top are a community garden, and a community meeting space to exchange seeds, produce, and learn new skills like cooking, meal preparation of what is in season and resource sharing,” Jensen said. “We are also looking at doing a workshop and providing supplies on planter gardening.”

The gathering was a feast for the mind and body that sprouted an abundance of ideas and inspiration. Sounds like a recipe for success.

During the community conversation event in March 2017, nearly 40 people worked together to pinpoint the community’s challenges, barriers, resources and strengths around access to food.