Surplus produce will feed those in need

As coordinator of Richmond Farmers Market, Hannah Snoddy has watched vendors haul away unsold produce every time the market closed, and Snoddy knew Wayne County families could use that nutritious food. 

Many families struggle with food insecurity, not knowing where they’ll get their next meal, especially a healthy one. According to a Gleaners Food Bank study, 10,930 Wayne County people experience food insecurity, including 3,270 children.

Snoddy, who is also a board member for the Wayne County Food Council, said a light bulb turned on for her. Maybe she could help the vendors, who work hard to grow produce and bring it to the market, to eliminate waste while providing more healthy food for those who need it. Thus, she began developing the Farm to Pantry Project.

“My biggest goal is to increase food access,” said Snoddy, who has worked 3 1/2 years with the farmers market. “I don’t believe anybody should have to fight for food. All of the farmers who have produce work hard to bring it to the market and put it on the tables, and I don’t like to see any of that go to waste.”

Beginning in June, when more produce becomes available at the market, Snoddy will purchase surplus produce at set amounts and prices. Circle U Help Center will pick up that produce and distribute it to local food pantries. The project provides a little extra money to the vendors and accessible fresh produce for those needing it.

Reid Health Community Benefit has provided a grant, and Snoddy is working to identify other funding sources to develop the Farm to Pantry Project.

Snoddy grew up in Booneville, Kentucky, a small town southeast of Lexington that “makes Richmond seem huge,” she said. There, the community worked together to help anyone struggling to put food on the table. She carried that spirit when taking classes at Ivy Tech Community College, working with community gardens, providing others with raised beds and plant starts. Providing food access to those who need it is “near and dear to me,” Snoddy said.

Richmond Farmers Market features other programs to expand community access to fresh foods. Its SNAP Double Dollars Program, sponsored by Reid Community Benefit, doubles the value of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program dollars redeemed on SNAP-eligible products. There’s also a Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program market match, and a Carrot Cash for Kids program that gives children $2 to spend on fruits and vegetables.

The market’s first day outdoors back at Elstro Plaza, 47 N. Sixth St., was May 3, and Snoddy soon expects more produce to become available. The market winters inside the Starr Gennett Building, 101 S. First St. Snoddy said the market is blessed to have a nice winter location with an “amazing vibe,” but “nothing beats a summer farmers market.”

The markets are 9 a.m. to noon each Saturday. A Tuesday Twilight Market begins July 1 from 4 to 7 p.m. each Tuesday through September at Elstro. The Tuesday events include food trucks and live music.

Vendors offer locally grown fruits, vegetables, plants, herbs and flowers, plus vendor-produced baked goods, jams, honey and more. Artisan products are also eligible for sale. Snoddy said 40 vendors have purchased season passes for set spaces each Saturday this summer. Another 20 vendors will rotate through daily passes, so about 50 vendors will sell their products each week.

“We have a really good mix,” Snoddy said of the vendors. “I’m really excited for this year.”