This month we highlight our partnership with the Healing Meals Community Project (HMCP). Since 2016, the Friends of Holcomb Farm has been pleased to include the Healing Meals Community Project as one of its institutional partners.
Our institutional partners are the organizations that help us distribute the food we grow to people who might not otherwise have access to it, using funds provided by our members, donors, partner contributions and grant-making organizations. The HMCP prepares delicious and nutritious organic meals for individuals and families dealing with a health crisis.
The HMCP community believes that nutrient-rich food, made and received with love, is essential for our well-being now and in the future. Each week, youth and adult volunteers come together to create delicious meals alongside their executive chef. The menus are created with great care, taking into account what local produce is available to them, incorporating appealing colors and flavors. As important as the meals are, the thoughtful handwritten notes of encouragement that the youth volunteers write to each client are appreciated. Healing Meals Delivery Angels then ensure the prepared meals arrive ready to nourish the clients for the week. Their clients tell them they can “feel the love in every bite of food.”
In 2022, Healing Meals incorporated more than 1,400 pounds of fresh, healthy, Holcomb Farm produce into their meals. Since they began in 2016, they have delivered more than 120,000 meals to over 1,600 clients and their family members in more than 75 towns in Connecticut. All of this has been possible with the help of 535 youth who invested 19,340 hours in their HMCP experience. Their adult volunteers have also generously donated more than 28,000 hours. The volunteers have shared that they feel more connected, have developed greater self-confidence, have developed a deeper knowledge of food as medicine and a sense of purpose. It’s truly incredible what can happen when a community comes together.
Healing Meals has grown to serve more diverse populations and has incorporated their educational programs to guide their clients on their health journey. Their nutrition and wellness education activities provide lifestyle-changing benefits, strengthening knowledge and increasing the desire to continue to eat healthy food beyond their crisis.
Thanks to their generous supporters and sponsors, Healing Meals is currently expanding their operations so that they will be able to serve twice the number of weekly clients by 2024.
Clients reach out to Healing Meals directly or are referred by their physicians. To learn more, please visit healingmealsproject.org
We are truly grateful to partner with organizations such as Healing Meals who are eager to love the community with nutritious food.