Garden Greens & Healthy Families
The last few years have brought many changes to Circle of Concern. One of the most popular of them has been our on-site garden, which produced nearly 2,000 pounds of colorful, varied fruits and vegetable for our clients in 2022.
Plans are underway for this spring’s planting, and volunteers are poised to get seeds in the ground and harvest in our clients’ kitchens. We also look forward to the generous surplus that our home-gardening friends bring to share. Local church and community gardens bring such abundance, too. Throughout the summer, beautiful tomatoes, greens, beans and herbs are eagerly chosen by happy clients.
These foods are on the front lines against a common term in the vocabulary of poverty and hunger – nutrition insecurity. While many of us have heard of food deserts and food insecurity, nutrition insecurity gets at the heart of something we all face. Even when foods are inexpensive and easily available, they often don’t contain much in the way of the vitamins and other nutrients we need to thrive. Circle is staring down nutrition insecurity.
Each month at Circle, we offer three featured food items to boost the nutritional value of the groceries our clients take home. In April, those items are collard greens, herbs and the plant-based protein tofu, each of which is packed with vitamins and other nutrients. When combined with our traditional shelf-stable items, milk, eggs, fruit, potatoes, carrots, meat and more, we bring the foods we offer closer to recommended dietary guidelines offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. To learn more about these guidelines, please visit MyPlate.gov.
Your gifts make this nutritional bounty possible. In a world where processed foods are often less expensive than healthier fresh foods, your support gives our clients a chance for real nutritional security. On their behalf, thank you!
COC April 2023 Enews
• Drive-Up Donors!
• Nutrition Insecurity/Garden Greens
• 2023 Golf Tournament
