With the help of a generous anonymous donor, Niverville Helping Hands is able to team up this year with a local grower, Niverville Homegrown, in order to provide fresh produce to families in need.
“We had a donor who approached us in the spring, inquiring whether they could sponsor a CSA box through Niverville Homegrown for our clients,” says Ashley Chamberlain of Helping Hands.
CSA stands for community-supported agriculture, and the CSA box model typically involves independent farmers delivering weekly boxes of fresh produce to households. Unfortunately, it was quickly decided that this wouldn’t be good fit for the clients of Helping Hands.
Nonetheless, Chamberlain says that Helping Hands was immediately intrigued by the suggestion. “We loved the idea, but we weren’t sure how that could work,” she says. “It got us to thinking, though, and we arranged to meet with Chantal Wieler, owner and operator of Niverville Homegrown, to discuss whether she would be interested in partnering.”
“When I was first approached with the idea of partnering with Helping Hands, I thought it was a great idea!” says Chantal Wieler. “I’ve been thinking for a while about how to get fresh produce into the hands of those less fortunate in my community. For the last six years, I have brought all my surplus at the end of the season to a few shelters in Winnipeg, but I love the idea of being able to fill a local need too.”
The two organizations soon came to a workable solution. Instead of distributing weekly boxes of produce, Helping Hands will distribute vouchers which can be redeemed at Wieler’s fresh produce stand.
“That way, people can come shop for the fresh produce of their choice, not just what I pack in the bins,” Wieler says. “I set up my vegetable stand in front of Niverville Bigway every Wednesday from 2:00–6:00 p.m. starting in mid-July, and that is where the vouchers can be redeemed. This seemed like the easiest way to get clients the freshest produce of their choice.”
This is similar to an existing Helping Hands program whereby clients receive vouchers for milk and eggs that can be picked up at Niverville Bigway and New B’s in New Bothwell.
“Starting in July we will distribute those coupons to our folks, and then Chantal will bill us back for coupons used,” says Chamberlain. “We so far have an amount that was donated exclusively for this project, and we may use some of our operating budget toward it as well.”
Chamberlain says that she is excited to branch out in ways that increase the nutritional benefits of the foods they provide.
“Food insecurity is a real issue,” Chamberlain adds. “Those who have limited budgets will tend to purchase items that have a longer shelf life. While those items can be fine nutrition choices, it’s a nice, and often healthier, option to have fresh vegetables and fruits available. I’m excited that this partnership will give people some of those options, on a small scale, but also that it provides the dignity of choice, which is something that we are talking about a lot with our team and trying to find ways to improve our services to the community where we can. At the same time, we are supporting a local business, so the result is a beautiful cycle that stands to benefit everyone.”
Chamberlain adds that Helping Hands is extremely grateful to the generous donor who made this possible. “We love when members of the community share ideas with us. Our community has been generous to us and allowed us to give generously to our clients. We are really just a vehicle through which the community gives back to itself, and we have been so fortunate to have been the afforded the opportunity to pilot this project.”
