The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department is promoting pop-up farmers markets as a way to encourage people to eat fruits and vegetables while they’re in season and to expand access to fresh produce into low-income neighborhoods.
The markets will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month through October at various locations throughout Toledo. The next one, set for Tuesday, will be at the health department’s downtown building, 635 N. Erie St.
It’s an expansion of last year’s partnership between the health department’s Creating Healthy Communities program and the Toledo Farmers’ Market, which held two pop-up markets last year and reached a combined 9,000 underserved residents in Toledo, officials said.
Amy Abodeely, a dietitian and Creating Healthy Communities program coordinator, said last year’s success continued with this season’s first pop-up market last month, held at the Eleanor Kahle Senior Center in West Toledo.
Ms. Abodeely said farmers markets are a way to offer fresh, healthy produce in underserved areas, particularly in neighborhoods where there are no grocery stores close by and residents don’t have access to reliable transportation.
In the 2016-2017 Lucas County Health Assessment, the most recent, 96 percent of Lucas County adults reported eating less than the recommended five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
It’s often more difficult for people in low-income areas to obtain fresh fruits and vegetables, Ms. Abodeely said, and Lucas County’s poverty rate measured 17.9 percent according to the 2016 census, higher than the state’s 13.9 percent.
Those figures contributed to the health department’s idea of starting pop-up farmers markets in the summer and fall months.
“We’re just trying to bring it into the community so hopefully they can have better access,” Ms. Abodeely said.
The markets accept SNAP, P-EBT, and TANF benefits, as well as WIC Farmers’ Market coupons and Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program coupons. Cash also is accepted.
There also will be staff on site to help individuals and families enroll in other coupon programs if they’re eligible.
Ms. Abodeely said serving people who use various assistance programs for their groceries is important because it increases their access to fresh, healthy foods, which can improve health outcomes.
Last year, 17 percent of Lucas County residents received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — also known as food stamps — benefits; more than 20,000 seniors received Senior Nutrition Coupons, and 4,590 — or about 45 percent — of Women, Infants, and Children participants in Lucas County received WIC Farmers Market Coupons, according to health department data.
In addition to food, the pop-up markets will feature informational and resource tables from various health and human services agencies.
The Sept. 15 pop-up market will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Sight Center of Northwest Ohio, 1002 Garden Lake Parkway. The final market of the season, on Oct. 20, is set for 11 to 2 at the East Toledo Family Center, 1020 Varland Ave.
All social distancing procedures will be followed in accordance with the Ohio Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
Call 419-213-4116 for more information.
First Published August 17, 2020, 10:22 a.m.
