Veggies for Vets - A new program and a press release
Willing Hands is giving a helping hand to Veterans
Good Afternoon Norwich and the Upper Valley
Here is an immediate press release from Willing Hands announcing a new program called “Veggies for Vets.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 19, 2024
Anna Cloutier
Willing Hands
anna@willinghands.org
802-698-0265
“Veggies for Vets” Met with Enthusiasm in First Weeks
Veterans and Families Enjoying Fresh, Free Food Through a New Program at White River Junction, VT:
The White River Junction VA Medical System and local nonprofit Willing Hands have just completed the ninth week of a 16-week collaboration to increase Veterans’ access to fresh local food.
The “Veggies for Vets” program, funded through the VA Office of Rural Health, connects veterans and their families to fresh produce by distributing in the style of a community-supported agriculture (CSA) box.
On-site at Willing Hands, volunteers assemble the boxes of food containing produce from several farms in the Upper Valley.
Veterans who sign up for the “Veggies for Vets” program, often through the encouragement of their primary care provider, pick up their box on Tuesday or Thursday mornings at the VA.
Veteran response to the weekly delivery of 150 CSA shares directly to the VA Medical Center has been extremely positive. Comments about the quality and freshness of the produce. One Veteran enthusiastically said, “This is the best corn I’ve ever had!” There is also an expressed appreciation for free, healthy produce being offered to Veterans and their families, which is closely followed by the stated hope that this will continue in the future.
About Willing Hands: Willing Hands recovers fresh food from farms, grocery stores, restaurants, and wholesalers, and delivers it year-round, for free, to 89 social service organizations across the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire.
Our work is made possible by a strong and wide network of volunteers, food donors, and recipient organizations. Together, we serve 30,000 individuals annually with 4 million servings while mitigating nearly 1 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions from food that would have otherwise gone to waste.
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