This past spring, a new initiative took place across 14 Community Schools, bringing fresh produce to the heart of our Philadelphia neighborhoods.
This pilot, “Connecting Community School Families to Fresh Produce,” was made possible thanks to the partnership between Sharing Excess, Food Connect, and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH).
Over eight weeks, families had the convenient option of picking up various fresh fruits and vegetables—ranging from cucumbers and tomatoes to grapes and mangos—directly from their schools, often when they were dropping off or picking up their child.
Discover the impact this initiative had on the students and the community as a whole.
Background
According to the School District of Philadelphia’s (SDP) 2022 report on household food insecurity, 20% of SDP families reported experiencing food insecurity, and 27% of students reported not having enough food at home in the past 30 days.
While Community Schools currently partner with Philadundance to receive non-perishable groceries, there is still a need for fresh produce and a lack of access to it. To address this gap, we partnered with Sharing Excess, which recovers produce that would otherwise be thrown away, and Food Connect, which bridges the transportation gap by delivering food.
Student Leadership
Several schools allowed students to take the lead and dive into their creativity in preparation for distributing produce. At Locke School, a student-led team was formed to manage the production and distribution of the produce, ensuring that fellow students and their families received their fresh fruits and vegetables. At Edmonds School, the cheerleading team supported the distribution and created a unique cheer to promote fresh produce pickup.
Community Impact
Coordinators saw a steady increase in participation each week and received feedback from families praising the convenience of picking up fresh produce alongside their children from school. The availability of free, high-quality produce also helped families cut down on their grocery bills.
But, the benefits went beyond just saving money. Students and families were excited to explore new fruits and vegetables. Overbrook Educational Center’s Community Schools Coordinator, Kiki Newman, shared that students’ faces lit up when they saw grapes, with one student even requesting that some be saved just for them. At McClure, a student tried grilled zucchini for the first time and was eager to experiment with other vegetables.
Families were also excited about sharing their culinary plans. At Dunbar, the sight of avocados, tomatoes, and limes sparked a wave of excitement about making guacamole.
Looking Ahead
This spring initiative, “Connecting Community Schools to Fresh Produce,” was funded by the Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention (CDIP) at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) and supported by the Office of Children and Families. It was a step towards more sustainable and community-centered food solutions. With a grant from the Innovation Fund of the Philadelphia City Fund, we are thrilled to continue this partnership at five of the Community Schools with the addition of an evaluation to collect feedback directly from families.
Community Schools are partnerships between the City of Philadelphia, the School District of Philadelphia, and school communities that aim to remove barriers to learning and support each student’s success.
The long-term goal of Community Schools is to ensure that every student graduates college- and career-ready and that communities are healthy, safe, hopeful, and supportive.
