Dragonfly Tales: Fighting for Food Equity through affordable meal kits

Gini,

Every day, Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) is working to ensure that families in every zip code have access to good food. I wanted to share an update on one of the innovative ways we're tackling Food Equity through our Good Food for All program.

As you know, Good Food for All provides families with 20 pounds of fresh, top-quality produce each week for 12 weeks. It's the kind of food that too many families in America don't have access to, or if they do, it's too expensive.

In the last year alone, we've served more than 20,000 families and delivered 18 million servings of vegetables and fruit. But, we know that 12 weeks isn't enough time to address all the imbalances in our food system. That's why we're partnering with companies like The Fruit Guys in Chicago and Genuine Foods in Memphis and Denver to create meal kits that families can buy at an affordable price - so that they can continue to have access to the fresh, high-quality food they have been receiving.

"This will cut out a lot of the preparation that's needed in all areas and I am grateful for the suggested healthy recipes. It takes the guesswork out of everything."

- Anita V., Irving Park YMCA member & meal kit recipient

Photo by Greg Rothstein, courtesy of YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago.

Each weekly meal kit has enough food for a family of four to eat three delicious meals together. We're working to expand the meal kit program to make its impact permanent. It's hard work because we must address the four barriers to Food Equity: access, affordability, time, and marketing. Here's how the pilot program is targeting all four barriers at once:

Access: Families are often too far away to grocery stores that sell the food they want. By offering options for delivery and picking up food at community hubs (like their local YMCA), families can access meal kits more easily.
Affordability: Healthy food options are often much more expensive than their unhealthy counterparts. These innovative meal kits are priced to compete with the cost of fast food.
Time: Even with access to good food, many families may not feel like they have time to cook. That's why these meal kits are designed to be time-savers. They include plant-forward meals that can be made in just a few minutes.
Marketing: Even in places where there are affordable options, people may not hear about them. That's why our community partners like the Chicago YMCA and Memphis-Shelby County Schools are helping to spread the word about opportunities to buy meal kits.