Fresh, Local Food for All

The Christian Outreach Food Pantry in Henderson County fills over five thousand food boxes annually to provide food for limited resource families in the community. Most of the products are donated by local grocers and other benevolent community groups. Mary Dunham, the food pantry director, reached out to Henderson County Extension to help fill the need for fresh produce. Henderson County Extension SNAP ED Assistant teamed up with the Horticultural Agent to plan and build six raised beds with the help from FFA, Lowes, D&M Grocery, United Way, and the Henderson Master Gardener Association. 

Long term maintenance of the raised beds and conventional garden area was integrated into the food pantry’s policy. Each participant can receive two bags of produce with two hours volunteer service in the garden. The SNAP Ed assistant also continues to teach the Healthy Choices for EveryBody lessons in conjunction with the garden program.

This past year, the food pantry relocate to a new building.  The new location does not have the land needed for the garden program.  Ms. Dunham realizes the value of fresh produce and worked with Henderson County Extension and Henderson County Master Gardeners to relocate the garden to the Extension office grounds.  The new model utilizes volunteers to plant, maintain, and harvest the garden and still provides over 1800 lbs of fresh produce to residents of Henderson County in need.

Fresh produce is important to everyone’s health including underserved audiences. The Christian Outreach Food Pantry serves almost 10,000 families annually with most all families participating in the fresh produce garden program.