New nutrition program brings food security close to home

ALBANY — Families and farmers in Linn County had a delicious and nutritious new program to sink their teeth into this growing season.

The Food for Health pilot program, developed by the Linn County Health Education and Maternal and Child Health teams, is an innovative project that aims to provide food to families in need while also investing in the local economy. Through this pilot, Linn County staff delivered free, fresh, and local food straight to 50 families’ doors, twice a month for more than five months.

Participating families — from Albany to Sweet Home to Brownsville — were happy to receive boxes of colorful fresh produce and protein every two weeks. Linn County’s Maternal and Child Health team, composed of nurses who do home visits to new low-income parents, helped identify and enroll patients and families from their client pools who had indicated a need for food assistance. After a 5-minute phone call, they were signed up and eligible to receive food boxes all season long.

With rising food costs at grocery stores and farmstands alike, participants reported they simply would not have had access to these in-season fruits and veggies, let alone ones from local farms, if not for this pilot program. In a survey conducted after the program’s completion, one participant stated, “My kids are thrilled. They can be picky eaters, but they look forward to these boxes because they are filled with exciting new foods.”

Funded by grants from the American Heart Association and Oregon Health Authority, Food for Health staff contracted directly with farmers from Linn County and the surrounding area to purchase food for families, including Oso Honey Farm, PK Pastures, Wahl Family Farms, Willows Acres, La Mancha Orchard, and many more.

Every two weeks, fresh produce and meat from these farms would be aggregated at Oso Honey Farm, packed into boxes, and loaded up into county and farm vans to deliver to families across Linn County.

For Linn County Food Systems Coordinator Diego Nieto, who developed the pilot along with other Linn County staff, this pilot represents an opportunity to meet families’ needs directly while also supporting and building connections with local farmers.

“A community that can feed and take care of itself is a resilient one,” Nieto said. “We hope the Food for Health pilot can demonstrate to our partners and healthcare providers that if we step in to help connect the dots and invest in nutritious local foods, everyone in our community ends up better off.”

              As for what comes next, Linn County hopes to administer and expand the program next year. While this year’s pilot focused on new parents, the county is exploring other strategies and target populations. Local healthcare clinics could help distribute food boxes to their clients and patients, for example.

“The home delivery model worked so well, we will definitely do that again next year,” Nieto said, “but we would like to develop additional distribution methods to reach other community members. Either way, our goal is to at least triple the volume of food we’re providing to the community next year.”

Media contact: Alex Paul, Linn County Communications Officer, 541-967-3825 or email apaul@co.linn.or.us.

Photos by Laura Bennett, Oso Honey Farm.

Photo 1: Tomatillo harvest

Photo 2: Diego Nieto delivering food boxes in Lebanon.

Photo 3: Food for Health newsletter and stickers being packed alongside strawberries.