The Friends of Holcomb Farm welcomed its newest partner to the Fresh Access program this summer: New Horizons Village.
The partnership began to take shape last fall, when Stephanie Tetreault, director of strategic initiatives at New Horizons, reached out to Fresh Access Chair Laura Midura to explore the possibility of providing farm-fresh produce to the 106 individuals residing at the Unionville facility.
New Horizons Village is a community for adults with physical disabilities. Residents are provided with 24/7 care support, and all independent living apartments and community buildings are fully accessible. Many residents live on a fixed income, making it difficult to afford nutritious foods such as fresh produce.
In early spring, Tetreault shared the exciting news that New Horizons Village had received a grant from Greater Hartford Gives Foundation. Thanks to the generosity and support of our Fresh Access Heroes and other generous donors, we were able to match this grant, and we now provide a once-monthly distribution for New Horizons Village throughout the growing season, mid-June through October.
New Horizons Village joins the eight other organizations partnering with Fresh Access to provide farm-fresh produce to more than 600 households throughout the growing season and beyond. These partners include Wheeler Clinic, The Hispanic Health Council, Granby Social Services, Granby Senior Center, Healing Meals, Waste Not/Want Not, Open Cupboard at Granby Congregational Church UCC and the Simsbury Food Pantry.
Through Fresh Access, the Friends of Holcomb Farm remain committed to continuing to provide fresh picked, nutritionally dense produce to individuals and families facing food insecurity, health challenges and/or the limitations of living on a fixed income.
We are deeply grateful to all our donors, especially our Fresh Access Heroes—supporters who commit to donating $1,000 or more for three consecutive years to the Fresh Access Program. We are also appreciative of all our partners who help us ensure that residents throughout Granby, Simsbury, Hartford, New Britain, Bristol, Waterbury, Plainville—and now Unionville—have access to Holcomb Farm produce.
We look forward to growing this new partnership with New Horizons Village and are excited about working with them to help ensure their residents can enjoy the flavor and nutrition that come from fresh produce grown at Holcomb Farm.