As we look ahead to big things in 2025, we wanted to provide a quick round-up of some great community events that The Food Trust was involved in during the final stretch of 2024!
Orchard Volunteer Day
Back in October, thanks to our partnership with Laura Cassidy, City Director of Sustainability, and Bennett Composting, The Food Trust was able to deliver 10,000 pounds of free produce to our community partners, halfway and recovery houses. Click HERE to check out this short video from the event.
We want to thank all of our partners: Healthcare Improvement Foundation, Office of Reentry Partnership, Philabundance, U.S Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District, Esperanza, City of Philadelphia Behavioral Health, Justice Division, Middle Child Clubhouse, Urban Outfitters, UESF, and friends and colleagues at The Food Trust for taking time out of their busy schedule to volunteer with us this year!
Farm Day at the Please Touch Museum
On Saturday, November 9, The Food Trust’s Community Engagement team participated in Farm Day at the Please Touch Museum, sponsored by the American Dairy Association. Our team, along with Lael Scarborough, Manager of STEM-based programming at PTM (pictured below), highlighted The Food Trust’s Farmers Market program by giving out cheese samples from our partner vendors Birchrun Hills Farm and Perrystead Farm.
Our staff also promoted the
Nutrition Navigator as a tool to find more farmers markets and related food programming. Nutrition education resources and information on Food Bucks/FMNP programs were also distributed.
Pop-up #3 at Firehouse Active Adult Center
After our
first and
second pop-up markets at Firehouse, The Food Trust and our partners at
Hayday Farms were pleased to round out the trilogy on November 20, bringing more fresh produce to these fantastic senior just before Thanksgiving. This time around, the market saw record-breaking numbers compared to the first two markets, with over $1,000 in sales, the vast majority of which were made with Food Bucks and Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) vouchers.
This series of events with Firehouse not only provided an opportunity for seniors to enjoy their very own fresh, local produce market, but also gave farmers a boost as they move into the tough winter and spring seasons.
