Frederick Food Security Network

In a 2017 analysis, Hood College identified 6 food deserts in the City of Frederick. Nationally, food deserts disproportionately affect low-income and Black and Hispanic populations, Frederick City shows the same trends according to the latest ALICE report. Data is still emerging, but we fear that the expanse and number of food deserts in Frederick City will temporarily, if not permanently increase as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Troublingly, food insecurity is associated with obesity, hypertension, heart disease, depression, cancer, and other chronic health problems. Also, on average, low-income households have been shown to consume fewer fruits and vegetables when compared to middle and higher-income populations, exacerbating health disparities.

  To address the issue of food insecurity in our City and the problems within our local food system, the Hood College’s Frederick Food Security Network (FFSN) works with the community to tackle these issues head-on. The FFSN is a college-community partnership that works together to alleviate food insecurity in local food deserts.   

The FFSN helps interested organizations located in city food deserts to secure funding to establish gardens and help them plan and coordinate their construction. Once gardens are established and garden coordinators identified, we provide ongoing services such as securing funds for ongoing garden expenses, offering regular training and roundtable meetings with other garden coordinators, providing seeds and seedlings from our greenhouse for planting, helping establish each year’s garden plan, assisting in volunteer coordination and recruitment, planning and hosting community outreach events, coordinating distribution of garden produce through other non-profit partners, and providing student workers to help as needed at each garden site.  

The FFSN is a model for how a college or university can work integrally in the community in which it is located, collaborating with other local partners to address community issues. The success of our program relies on its partnerships with non-profits such as the Religious Coalition for Emergency Human Needs, the Boys and Girls Club of Frederick, Frederick Memorial Hospital, the Islamic Society of Frederick, the Housing Authority of Frederick, Community Action Agency, and other organizations. We have successfully established a program that is strongly community-based and also avoids replication of efforts and inefficiencies within our city. As part of Hood College, it also gives college students the opportunity to collaborate with local non-profits to address community issues, empowering them to be civically engaged both during their college years and beyond.  

Since 2018 we have helped our partners in Frederick City to build and maintain their community gardens. We currently have 5 community gardens and 3 greenhouses in our network and 2-5 partners who distribute the produce grown in these locations to the residents who need it most. Each year our network gains new partnerships and this year we are planning on adding 2 more community gardens to the Network and increase our impact within our community.   

The FFSN depends heavily on volunteers and student workers to fulfill its mission and help our partners maintain their vegetable gardens, harvest the produce, and prepare it for distribution to low-income households in Frederick City.   

 In 2020 we were able to grow, harvest, and distribute over 6,200 Lbs. of produce to 847 families in need. All the produce was provided for free, and our distribution partners reported that the produce never stayed on the shelf for long. Between March and April of 2020, just as the pandemic was unfolding, we saw the need in our community increase by 60%. Now more than ever, families who are struggling to make ends meet would benefit from free access to nutritious food. We hope to increase our reach even further in 2021 and grow and distribute more produce to meet the growing demand. However, without the workforce required to achieve our goals, we are worried we may fall short.  

 We usually recruit at least 4 AmeriCorps members and hire 4 students as agricultural assistants. In addition, we usually depend on approximately 8-10 regular volunteers and countless other casual volunteers. However, the current COVID-19 crisis has meant that our volunteers are not able, or do not feel comfortable working during this time. We currently only have 3 part-time employees working on for the Network and very few regular volunteers. With the growing season ramping up again in the next few months, we need to rely on hired staff rather than volunteers. We don’t have the funds to expand in order to meet the needs of our community and are respectfully requesting funds to support our operating costs.