Well, we can finally say that there is such as thing as a free lunch. In order to get healthy lunches into the hands and the mouths of an underserved Buffalo community, Artfarms has teamed up with Buffalo Public Schools to launch a grassroots initiative that will allow East Side kids to easily access healthy lunches while learning about locally grown, nutritious foods.
I spoke to Artfarms advocate Sarah Maurer about the program, and she explained that, “Last year at our Artfarms launch event, we talked to folks in the neighborhood about what they would want to see happening at the tree table site, and one mother who lives a couple houses down suggested running a summer lunch program pickup site there since there are plenty of families in the neighborhood and it’s a great spot for kids to come and eat. We wanted to see the site become a hub of positive activity in the neighborhood and food distribution seemed like a great start.”
One of the side benefits that Sarah sees, is the natural interaction between the students and the Michigan-Riley Farm, where the community Big Tree Table is located. When students stop by to pick up their lunches at the table, they will essentially be introduced to a farming community that they might not otherwise be familiar with. Sarah continued, “I’m hoping the kids who come to pick up a lunch will have the chance to see what the farmers are growing and learn more about what it means to grow your own food,” said Sarah. “We canvassed in the neighborhood with flyers yesterday and took some to a local church soup kitchen. Everyone seemed pretty excited about it.”
As for the program, the free lunches are provided by Buffalo Public School’s Nutrition Department. Sarah told me that this is the first year that Artfarms has participated in the endeavor. “Youth ages 18 and under will be able to come to the site and get a free lunch, Monday-Friday from 12pm-1pm. We’ll be up and running from Monday, July 6 to Friday, August 21. The Foundry has generously offered to host us in the event of bad weather. So families can go to 298 Northampton on rainy days at the same time to pick up a lunch.”
The free lunch program is just one of the reasons that Artfarms is such a wonderful organization in Buffalo. Hopefully a relationship of this nature (Artfarms and Buffalo’s public schools) will blossom into additional opportunities for the community that surrounds the Big Tree Table. “I’d also like to work with Locust Street Art Gallery again to provide some free outdoor art classes like we did last summer,” mentioned Sarah. Down the road, it would be nice to see more organizations and businesses getting involved with the Artfarms movement. Only if we all step up to help with these exceptional building block efforts, will we see true change in our struggling neighborhoods.”