Food on the Move

Our project Food on the Move will distribute free CSA like meal boxes into existing program and social groups that include seniors, youth, and their families for 10 weeks. The goal of the program is to establish and improve  relations within social groups and to improve the health outcomes for participants.  We will offer families and individuals scholarships to participate in a 10 week educational program that includes a weekly presentation relating to food production (gardening, composting, cooking, cost savings).  Each program package will be designed with the participants. What each group grows, how or where they grow food on site is determined by their desire and capacity.  A new garden will be developed at The Phyllis Wheatley Association for hands on learning, mentoring and relaxation.  

The Food on the Move crew will collarborate with Golden Chipers, Phillis Wheatley, Martin Deporres, and East Cleveland  Civic Center representing Slavic Village, Central, Glenville, and East Cleveland neighborhoods respectively to create a culture whose conversation is about food security and access.  As the farmers grow and prepare the weekly meal boxes, the chefs will prepare  in season recipes that are desired and suitable for the participants. Food educators and story tellers will create and  prepare weekly presentation that will  encourage conservation and recycling as part of a yummy menue. The conservation and recycling efforts will include and not be limited to composting and alternative energy use.

Weeks 1 & 2

Recruitment/ food distribution / Design

• each group will have a world cafe' design session to provide opportunity for dialogue and creativity to the process
• each group will have membership agreements that represent the committment to the process and their desired outcomes

Develop worksheets /food demo

• each group will personalize plans for their site     
• each group will select and schedule the demo's, workshops, of their choice 

Weeks 3 - 10

 Implementing the plans 

• garden development and container growing
• food and health conversations and presentations

 Weeks 1-10

Distribution of CSA like meal boxes  up to 80 meals  per week

Week 9 & 10

Evaluation and celebration

• surveys
• create memorabilia for 10 week session

People living in urban environments have little to no fresh food available in close proximity to their homes. Many single moms and seniors don't have money or transportation to consistently provide good wholesome meals for their households. 

Imagine yourself, age 75,  home alone at 10:15 am with a few staple items in your cupboard and you are hungry.  Do you call a costly taxi or another transportation service to provide a ride to the grocery store 3-5 miles away (60-90 minutes walk, 50-75 minutes on public transportation) and then carry your goods back home. Or do you venture to your nearest cornerstore to buy a can of potted meat and chips.  These seem like ridiculous scenarios yet we see individuals walking and riding wheelchairs to corner stores for snacks they call food 2-3 times a day. When seniors and youth are growing their own foods collectively and becoming members of food coop programs food can be distributed during their normal social activities.

The City-Wide Food on the Move project will provide opportunities for individuals and organizations to investigate sustainable practices in community. 

According to The Center for Community Solutions  2014 data, approximately 400,000 people live in the City of Cleveland with and annual median income of  $26,000 and  approximately 17,000 people in East Cleveland with an annual median income of  $19,592.  12,531 people of Cleveland Households  are eligible to receive SNAP benefits.  With that being said, each group will become aware of the socio-economic relationships that can and will exist with sustainable food production.They will be able to participate in a community of practice that conserves energy, mitigates storm water runoff, decreases their carbon footprints, saves money and improves their health outcomes.