EATS Provides Food Security Programs
At EATS, our four main areas of focus are Advocacy, Education, Food Security, and Gardening & Sustainability. Our Food Security programs are at the core of EATS’ mission to ensure that everyone in our community has access to nutritious, delicious foods that inspire them. Our food security work allows community members to bring delicious food into their homes that can pique their interest around transforming their diets. Food security is more than getting food to those who don’t have anything to put on their plates. It’s finding pockets in our community where families could use more diversity in their diets and acknowledging the root causes that lead to food insecurity like low wages, food deserts, or lack of nutrition education. EATS Food Security efforts support community members wherever they are on their food journey by providing snacks, fresh fruits and vegetables, and more.
Snacks in Backpacks
EATS’ Food Security journey all started with asking “How can we support students with additional food when they’re not at school?”. The Snacks in Backpacks program is a partnership with The Christian Center of Park City. We work together to provide snacks for students to take home in their backpacks on Fridays so that they have a boost on the weekends when school breakfast and lunch aren’t provided to them.
In addition to supplying snacks to folks in the Park City area, EATS also delivers fresh produce to Community Action in Kamas. We acknowledge that residents in more rural areas are at higher risk of suffering from living in food deserts and that fresh produce is not always readily available to them.
Opt-in Supplemental Food Assistance Program
A new addition to our food security efforts, EATS’ opt-in supplemental food assistance program allows community members to opt-in to receiving additional healthy snacks for themselves and their families. Community members are able to select from a range of healthy snacks that will be packed and delivered directly to their homes by an EATS staff member at the end of the week. In providing these resources, we also get to know our community members, their interests, relationships with food, and any self-identified food gaps so we can better understand how to serve our community. This program is being implemented in late November 2021 and we’re excited to see its impact!
Local Food Production
A large part of working in food security has to do with making sure there is enough fresh food being grown in our community, to begin with. At EATS, we recognize the challenges that high-altitude gardening and farming can present. EATS’ Gardens and Sustainability team grows food in local spaces that aren’t being used to funnel fresh produce back to our community members. Examples include greenhouses along highway 224, the greenhouse at Parley’s Park Elementary School, the greenhouse at The Park City Day School, and others. Produce grown in these spaces is used in EATS cooking classes, given directly to community members, or donated to food pantries across the Wasatch Back.
Get Involved with EATS’ Food Security Programs
Thanks to our generous community members and local business supporters, we raised over $15,000 to support EATS’ Backpack Snacks Program at this year’s Live PC Give PC fundraising event! Your impact will help us grow our Food Security Programs to support even more families with fresh, nutritionally dense food. To learn more about opting into our Supplemental Food Assistance Program, or to volunteer, please email charlene@eatsparkcity.org.
Made Possible in Part By:
Leave a Reply