Oberlin nonprofit, Lorain Library work to make produce accessible

LORAIN — If parts of Lorain could be considered food deserts, the Lorain Public Library System and Oberlin nonprofit City Fresh are working to provide a sort of oasis this summer. The beginning of July marked the fourth year that the library system has participated in the nonprofit's community supported agriculture program. Called the City Fresh Farm Box program, City Fresh Executive Director Anna Kiss Mauser-Martinez said the project seeks to provide a food distribution model that is healthier for both customers and farmers. "The idea is to connect local farmers with local eaters," Mauser-Martinez said "(That) builds a more resilient food system, and one that both gives economic justice to farmers and farm workers as well as increased access to nutrient-dense, seasonal produce for eaters." The program allows residents across Lorain and Cuyahoga Counties to purchase boxes, called shares, from local farmers through City Fresh and then pick them up at one of 16 locations. Shares are purchased weekly through the City Fresh website in either individual or family sizes. Along with the size options, boxes are available as a full-price share or limited income share and can also be purchased with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, commonly referred to as food stamps. Mauser-Martinez said that shares purchased with SNAP benefits are sold at half-off their retail price without lowering the profits of local farmers, all of whom are located within 70 miles of Cleveland. LPLS director Anastasia Diamond-Ortiz said that the partnership with City Fresh came naturally on top of the system's existing food access programs, many of which are run with the help of Lorain County Public Health. It was the health department that put the library in contact with City Fresh, she said. "It's been a wonderful partnership, because there weren't any other pickup spots in Lorain," Diamond-Ortiz said. "So that was a huge benefit to the community, and it's just grown and grown. My understanding is (Lorain) has become one of their most successful stops, and I really think that's because it's something the community clearly needs." Diamond-Ortiz said that bringing fresh produce into Lorain's centrally located public libraries provides much-needed access in an area with limited public transportation options. "We focus on making sure that we're bringing food to the people who are most in need of access to nutrition," Mauser-Martinez said. "We bring quality nutrition to those who have the least access and are the most marginalized. That's always been central to our mission." Mauser-Martinez said the City Fresh model differs from most traditional community agriculture programs that require participants to sign up for an entire summer growing season. Instead, the City Fresh program uses a week-to-week model that can be joined at any time. This is more flexible for consumers and though it doesn't pay farmers before the growing season, it provides them with a larger pool of customers. "In a traditional CSA model, people pay for the entire season upfront," Mauser-Martinez said. "But, not everybody has their entire summer's grocery budget ready in February. That is a great way to support small farmers and to build a resilient local food system in the face of things like the climate crisis. But there's sort of reasons why people can't pay premiums for food, and this still provides them access to it." Residents simply need to select their weekly needs and preferred place of pickup, then they can have a box packed with a variety of fresh, local produce ready wherever is best for them. Pickups in Lorain are at both the Main Branch and South Branch library locations every Tuesday. Just about every one of those Tuesdays, volunteers Debra Jackson and Joanne Eldridge-Tucker can be found at the main branch. Both are members of the non-profit Friends of Loran Library — Jackson is the organization's president — and both women have served as volunteers for the City Fresh pickup since the program came to Lorain four years ago. "The whole point is to counter food deserts and get people exposed to and eating more fresh, nutritious food," Jackson said. "... it works because people can pick whatever weeks and prices are convenient for them." Eldridge-Tucker said that her favorite part of the volunteer work was seeing families come in together, talking and learning about the different fresh foods they would find in their boxes. "I feel kind of like an ambassador for healthy eating," Eldridge-Tucker said. "We should all eat more fruits and vegetables, and the intention here is to make that possible. Especially for the kids, because if we can get them to eat veggies when they are young, it will improve their palette and they will enjoy them their whole lives." Building familiarity with fresh produce is necessary, Mauser-Martinez said, in a world where consumers are increasingly disconnected from the sources of their food. "We eat so much processed stuff," she said. "We don't get to spend time in the dirt learning about things, so there's a lack of familiarity with fruits and vegetables of all kinds. Also, you have family cultures and community cultures where people do the things that they're really most familiar with. That's been a big loss in the commercialization and the industrialization of the food system." Both Mauser-Martinez and the volunteers said that this need for sharing among the community makes the pickup spots even more crucial. "The fresh stop approach is really important because you're gonna see your neighbors also picking up their shares," Mauser-Martinez said. "That way you're able to kind of have this peer-to-peer network that develops where folks can ask, you know, 'What did you do with your kohlrabi (a type of cabbage that resembles a turnip) last week?'" The Lorain Public Library System of course offers books on cooking, but also has in-person programs to help residents learn their way around the kitchen. "We have all sorts of things to help people learn how to actually use the produce that they're getting, which I think has been a big benefit to the program," Diamond-Ortiz said. In addition to the Lorain Public Library, City Fresh also has two pickup locations in Elyria, at Lorain County Community College and the Lorain County Urban League, and one in Oberlin at the First Church in Oberlin. To sign up for the program, residents should visit cityfresh.org. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.