Nourish to Flourish

As we join around the table to give thanks, it is impor­tant to reflect on those in our com­mu­ni­ty in need. Nour­ish to Flour­ish, a group of con­cerned com­mu­ni­ty lead­ers meets month­ly to address hunger and food inse­cu­ri­ty on San Juan Island.

A recent report found 40% of our res­i­dents strug­gle to make ends meet and 68% of low-resource res­i­dents skip meals and lack healthy foods. A recent sur­vey found fruits and veg­eta­bles are 40% high­er on island than the mainland. 

Thanks to Rotary Club sup­port, “36 Week­ends” sends home nutri­tious food for kids who would oth­er­wise go hun­gry over the weekend.

The Fresh Bucks pro­gram helps low-income peo­ple buy more fruits and veg­eta­bles and reduces the risk of obe­si­ty, dia­betes and heart dis­ease. Buy­ing more pro­duce also sup­ports the local econ­o­my. Fresh Bucks allows low-income fam­i­lies to match up to $20 in pur­chas­es on fruits and veg­eta­bles at the San Juan Island Food Co-op and Farmer’s Mar­ket every time they shop. Fresh Bucks start­ed in July 2018 and will con­tin­ue as our fund­ing allows. Thus far, over 70 fam­i­lies on San Juan Island have used Fresh Bucks to increase their access to health­i­er food.

The Nour­ish to Flour­ish web­site, www.nourishtoflourishwa.org, lists local food resources, details about our vol­un­teers, and food inse­cu­ri­ty ini­tia­tives. View the web­site to learn more. All are wel­come to attend upcom­ing meetings.

Thanks to a gen­er­ous donor, dona­tions are being matched up to $5,000. Dona­tions are accept­ed by click­ing on the donate but­ton on the web­site home page or through the Joyce L. Sobel Fam­i­ly Resource Cen­ter. Every dona­tion is 100% for food. As we enjoy this Thanks­giv­ing, remem­ber your neigh­bors and friends who may need help access­ing nour­ish­ing food, and let us share the boun­ty in cel­e­bra­tion of our nation­al holiday.

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