Friendsville, MD – On December 21st, fifty families received bountiful Harvest Hub meal boxes at the Friendsville Volunteer Fire Department, helping to increase food and nutrition security during the holiday season.
The Holiday Edition of the Harvest Hub Meal Box featured an 8–10 pound ham as the centerpiece of a festive meal. Each box also included locally sourced potatoes along with a gallon of milk, a box of chicken broth, a can of pineapple, and a roasting pan with foil to prepare a holiday dinner. Thoughtful breakfast items such as bread, eggs, butter, pancake mix, and syrup were added, along with beans and kale, to create a hearty ham and bean soup. Simple, printed recipes and step-by-step instructional videos were provided to guide families in making the most of the meal box’s contents.
This initiative is an extension of the Harvest Hub pilot program, led by the Garrett County Health Department in collaboration with local farmers, businesses, schools, and community agencies. Designed as an innovative solution to bridge gaps in food access, the pilot program was instrumental in securing a competitive grant from the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission in partnership with AHEC West, resulting in substantial funding for Garrett County. You can read more about the Harvest Hub at GarrettCountyFood.com.
“Food and nutrition security are complex issues in Garrett County,” said Shelley Argabrite, MA, Director of Population Health, Innovation, and Informatics at the Garrett County Health Department. “Our team has many exciting developments that we’ve worked hard to secure for our community, which will be launching in the coming weeks. Please join our planning efforts and work alongside us to help create sustainable solutions to improve our local food network. To learn more and get involved in work to improve local food systems, visit GarrettCountyFood.com. Additionally, a new website has been created to track our community’s collective progress in working toward a permanent and accessible food bank in Garrett County. More information about the food bank project can be found at GarrettCountyFoodBank.com.”
Community members in need are encouraged to sign up for a free account on GoGarrettCountyPlus.com and subscribe to our email list for updates on upcoming Harvest Hub Meal Box distributions and community initiatives. While the Holiday Edition of the Harvest Hub Meal Box sold out in under three hours, plans are being made to carry the program forward into 2025 with an emphasis on increasing the number of unique individuals served.
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Pictured from left to right are Lydia Yoder, Healthy Together Program Coordinator at AHEC West, Shelley Argabrite, Director of Population Health, Innovation, Informatics at the Garrett County Health Department, Craig Umbel, Volunteer Firefighter & Director of Environmental Health at the Garrett County Health Department, John Corbin, Communications, Data Science, and Informatics Administrator, Health Equity/Minority Health Coordinator, and Public Information Officer at the Garrett County Health Department, and Taylor Alexander, Community Health Worker at AHEC West.
Contact: [email protected]
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