‘If All the Stores Close, We Need Food’: Community Gardens Adapt to the Pandemic - Phoenix Community Garden featured in the New York Times.

Because of the pandemic, our community elders should be staying inside. They are among the most vulnerable to Covid-19. Because we recognized the danger, the Fresh Food Box Program at Phoenix Community Garden began collecting money to provide fresh fruit and vegetables to elders in isolation. We have recruited a team of volunteers to deliver the bags of produce and pantry staples following social distancing protocols. These volunteers are also checking in with the elders, making sure they're ok and have everything that they need. As the weeks have worn on, it looks like shelter-in-place and social distancing restrictions will be going on for several more months. We are committed to providing food security to every elder that we add to our list by providing them with a fresh food box every week. Currently, we are working with 72 elders. 

We were recently featured in National Geographic's How are older Americans fighting isolation during the pandemic?: "Bernadette Mitchell, a Phoenix Garden volunteer, delivers a bag of vegetables and produce to 78-year-old Norman Stout, who is blind. Volunteers meet at Phoenix Garden every Saturday morning to pack the bags. Natalie Peart, a Phoenix Garden volunteer, bundles fresh herbs to add to the produce bags."