Food box program makes produce from area farms available to Merced County residents

Produce from area farms was recently made available to people in the community at Atwater High, through the Farmers To Families Food Box Program.

According to Erin Tassey, director of nutrition services for the Merced Union High School District, the week of May 28 was the second time partnering with the program.

“Ag Link is the distributor for this program, said Tassey. “They’ve done the grant through the USDA to make this possible.”

Tassey said a unique thing about the box program is that it’s open to all.

“Our meal distribution is for children 18 years and younger but any family that would like to come through, any community member that feels that they have a need to pick up these items are welcome to do so,” she said.

“There’s no obligation, there’s no eligibility requirements. It really is just driving through, taking the box with you and then of course you’re responsible for cooking it.”

The boxes are available during meal distribution for students in the community. Tassey said they hope to offer the boxes once a week until June 30, through the duration of the grant.

Just over 200 boxes were available at the school recently, an increase from the 72 boxes available the week prior at Buhach Colony High School.

The boxes consisted of fresh produce, including lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, stone fruit and chicken that has been prepared, chilled and sealed, according to Tassey.

The food boxes will be distributed on Thursdays and information about the program and locations will be made available through MUHSD social media pages, according to Tassey.

Anyone interested in information about future food box distributions can contact the Nutrition Services Department at 209-325-2210, according to the MUHSD Facebook page.

This story has been updated from a previous version

This story was originally published June 7, 2020 at 5:00 AM.