With a pair of farmers markets in place each week, coupled with cooking demonstrations, tools to reach low-income residents and other educational efforts, GROW Allen County is maintaining its efforts to increase access to healthy foods.
Armed with a $40,000 Kansas Health Foundation grant, GROW (Growing Rural Opportunities Works) has expanded its Allen County Farmers Market to twice a week sessions.
The first session occurs Thursday afternoons on the east side of the courthouse square in downtown Iola. Since May, a Saturday morning farmers market has been set up at Orscheln Farm & Home on North State Street.
“GROW has been working hard to improve access to healthy foods for everyone and we are making good strides in that direction,” Kathy McEwan, family and consumer science agent for K-State Research and Extension, said in a press release. “The Allen County Food System Assessment showed a real need, and desire, for educational opportunities in our communities — things like cooking classes — as well as continued work on making positive sustainable change that will secure access to healthy food for all.”
The assessment to which McEwan is referring, was a survey conducted over the winter that indicated nearly half of Allen County’s residents (44 percent) do not have access to healthy food, compared to 29 percent statewide.
Similar numbers, 42 percent, are dissatisfied with the availability of healthy food here, while 45 percent are dissatisfied with the variety of healthy food available.
THE $40,000 grant builds on an existing four-year, $125,000 grant, called the Healthy Communities Initiative, also from the Kansas Health Foundation in 2013.
Allen County GROW consists of members from nine communities in the county, as well as representatives from the public health sector, residents with food insecurity, youth, higher education, farm and ranch organizations and schools.
In addition to its work with expanding the farmers markets — including institution of a SNAP market match funding mechanism to allow food stamp recipients to shop at farmers markets — Allen County Grow has supported efforts with USD 257’s summer food program and recruitment of G&W Foods to build a new grocery store in Iola this year.
