RALEIGH, N.C. (WPTF) – This Saturday, the Fuquay-Varina Growers Market is stepping up to tackle food insecurity by becoming a Summer Meals site where kids can grab nutritious meals at no cost, thanks to USDA funding. Marge Moreton, Market Manager for the Fuquay-Varina Growers Market, says they started two years ago in partnership with the Poe Center for Health Education.
Marge Moreton: Market Manager for Fuquay-Varina Gr | RSS.com
“We operate out of the Fuquay-Varina Chamber of Commerce parking lot, and why not be a Summer Meals site?” said Moreton. “Every Saturday we’re there serving up breakfast for kids, having face painting and wellness and nutrition activities for the kids.”
Food insecurity is not just growing among children from being away from school, it’s growing across all age groups from babies to senior citizens. The Fuquay-Varina Growers Market is focused on food security and farm preservation to bring nutrition to those in need.
“This is part of our mission of course [as well as] wellness and physical activity [and] we find that the need this year is even greater,” said Moreton. “The kids rely on breakfast and lunches at school, and without that the kids are actually struggling moreso than ever. We hope to be able to fill in some of the gap, but it is important for the kids to be able to get nutritious meals.”
Along with being a Summer Meals site, the Fuquay-Varina Growers Market also has a Produce to Pantry Program where they purchase produce from local North Carolina farmers and donate those items to local pantries.
“We actually have four organizations in southern Wake County in the Fuquay area that we donate to–the Fuquay-Varina Emergency Food Pantry, the Fuquay-Varina Homes for the Elderly, Pine Acres Community Center and Operation Nayhelle,” said Moreton.
Fuquay-Varina’s Growers Market isn’t just about local produce, it’s about bringing people together to fight against food insecurity. Out of markets across the U.S., Fuquay-Varina is one of just nine chosen to offer double the value on SNAP/EBT dollars—giving local families a chance to stretch their grocery budgets further.