Even in the world’s greatest food-producing nation, children and adults face poverty and hunger in every county across America. According to recent US Census estimates, the median household income in Kentucky is almost 20% lower than the U.S. median household income. Kentucky also has higher percentages of poverty and food insecurity among its population compared to the census estimate for the United States overall.

A study by Feeding America shows that the face of hunger is one we might recognize. Many of our neighbors who are seeking food assistance have jobs, raise families, work toward education and struggle with health problems, like all of us. Too often, to get enough food for their families, our clients also have to make difficult trade-offs.

Here are some choices that study households reported making in the past 12 months: 74% report choosing between paying for food and paying for utilities; 34% of households are making the choice every month. 68% report paying for food and paying for medicine/medical care; 31% of households report making the choice every month.

We rely on food to be there when we need it. But for a lot of people it isn’t, or it’s not the healthy kind of food. In the study 90% of client households report purchasing the cheapest food available, even if they knew it wasn’t the healthiest option, in an effort to provide enough food for their household.

LiveWell NKY (Live Well northern Kentucky) seeks to collaborate with community partners to provide a framework for a common vision to create a culture of good health. The Nutrition Education Program is working to compliment, not compete with other urban serving organizations. In the northern Kentucky counties of Boone, Kenton, and Campbell, the Nutrition Education program partnered with LiveWell NKY from its inception in 2016 to create local coalitions. In northern Kentucky walking paths have been created, community bike rides and exercise classes organized, and smoking cessation series offered with free nicotine replacement patches through LiveWell NKY coalitions.

In Boone County the coalition now provides an average of 2,282 pounds of fresh produce to an average of 241 individuals monthly. Using the average cost of $2 per pound, the savings to low income families is $55,768 per year with the added bonus of receiving nutritious fresh food.

This program had a bumpy start. Now after 18 months of providing fresh produce, this Pop-Up distribution operates like a well-oiled machine. Working with Kroger corporate offices, produce is donated to the regional Free Store Food Bank (FSFB). The FSFB provides the produce to Boone County LiveWell for free and has promised to do so until the coalition decides to stop this Pop-Up distribution.

At first there were only 3 volunteers (and 2 of those were from the Nutrition Education Program) to organize, man, and clean-up the entire distribution in a community parking lot. Leftover produce was loaded into a church van and taken to a low income senior housing complex. Now the Produce Pop-Up operates out of a church gym next to the low income senior housing complex. A roster of over 30 volunteers set up the tables/stations including recipes to sample and copies to take home to replicate, unload the pallets of produce, sign guests in, help guests take their produce to their vehicle or apartment, clean up after the distribution, and transport leftover produce to Helping Hearts charity for their onsite pantry. Every last bit of the ton of fresh and healthy produce reaches families in need each month.

To quote one of the coalition members, “this produce distribution is so much bigger than produce.” The church is now offering a shower and laundry ministry to the homeless population that takes advantage of the distribution. In addition, community nurses offer health screenings monthly at the same time as the shower ministry for those that need blood pressure and/or glucose monitoring. The Free Pharmacy organization is contacted if medication is needed for these clients.

Since April 2019, Kenton County Live Well is now modeling a monthly Produce Pop-Up using the successful Boone county Live Well strategies.

The combination of income, transportation, quality and quantity of retailers create barriers to accessing healthy food, creating food deserts in urban areas. There is nothing natural about food deserts…they are man-made problems. In northern Kentucky this partnering is an innovative and creative man-made solution to solve this identified barrier to healthy food and other problems.