Food & Nutrition Accessibility

Issue-Based Community Impact (IBCI) Focus Area: Food & Nutrition Accessibility

During the 2014-2015 League year, the Junior League of Lancaster (JLL) began adopting specific issue areas as the primary focus of our service projects and initiatives. As of June 2022, our current Issue-Based Community Impact (IBCI) focus area is Food & Nutrition Accessibility. Our strategic mission within this realm is to positively impact the health and wellness of community members. The JLL has been proactively executing a multi-tiered initiative to break the cycle of inequitable food access in our community. Through the nature of our work, we aim to focus on nutrition education, food security and availability in an equitable and accessible way.

Since 2022, our trained legion of JLL volunteers embarked on a number of collaboratives, creative projects and long-term programming endeavors within our IBCI, all rooted with the intention of creating measurable reform within Lancaster County to combat the social, economic, and health implications of food & nutrition accessibility within our geographic imprint:

Direct Service

  • Prepared, cooked, and served well-balanced lunches and dinners to Arch Street Center members.
  • Deployed committed volunteers to organize, sort, and box non-perishable goods and nutrient-dense recipes for children and families who receive weekend meals from Power Packs Project (highlights included packing 759 individual bags of potatoes in preparation for Thanksgiving, 797 single bags of walnuts ahead of the holiday season, 383 boxes of essential groceries, and 780 bags of almonds for everyday usage) 
  • Hosted a collaborative volunteer day at the York County Food Bank alongside the Junior League of York, which provided an opportunity for fellowship and learning opportunities amongst Leagues.
  • Offered direct volunteer support to the Lancaster Central Market to logistically manage their recently unveiled After Market Program initiative, as well as to assist them with scaling up their operations in order to meet the needs of food bank utilizers. After Market closes for the day, stand holders offer free goods expiring before the next Market day. The program is designed to ensure that nutritious food ends up on local tables rather than go to waste.

Collaborative Efforts

  • Donated three raised, stained, and weatherproof garden beds to Arch Street Center that will allow current and future members with physical disabilities or traveling restrictions to plant and grow their own food on-site
  • Executed a two-phase community co-op program in July 2023 with the Boys & Girls Club of Lancaster that entailed the clean-up and planting of a community garden behind the Jack Walker Clubhouse in downtown Lancaster that harvests locally grown, free produce for members, employees, and nearby residents (through its introduction, BGC members have been treated to experiential STEM-oriented programming opportunities, as well as educational life skills involving health and wellness)

Donations/Drives

  • Collected 1,500 manual can openers for children and their families who are enrolled in the Power Packs Projectprogram based in Lancaster, which through our research-based discovery process we determined was a critically overlooked need for recipients (this campaign, known as “Together We Can”, was a strategically designed project between our Community Impact Committee and our Fall 2022 Provisional Class, the latter of whom was required to complete a new member project by December 2022)
  • Embarked on a fundraising campaign to raise over $2,000.00 in contributions from supporters and donors to stock Bench Mark Program‘s new kitchen facility with useful appliances and gadgets for members and staff to whip up healthy snacks and meals (this campaign, referred to as “Sponsor a Spoon”, was also a strategically designed project between our Community Impact Committee and our Spring 2023 Provisional Class, the latter of whom was required to complete a new member project by May 2023)
  • Led a year long, member-wide grocery card collection to help provide free produce to communities that need it most.
  • Embarked on a new member project by partnering with the Lancaster Public Library to create and maintain a teen and youth adult food cart stocked with free healthy snacks and toiletries for patrons of the library (this campaign was a strategically designed project between our Community Impact Committee and our Fall 2023 Provisional Class, as well as our Spring 2024 Provisional Class, both of which were required to complete a new member project by December 2023 and April 2024 respectively) 
  • Organized a donation drive to support high-need pantry staples for the Lancaster County Food Hub.

New Initiatives

  • Improved the nutrition for the most vulnerable populations by introducing free pop-up markets that will offer immediate access to fresh fruits and vegetables to neighborhoods (this initiative was launched in Summer 2023)
  • Secured a grant from Aetna Health that will foster long-term, sustainable support of the free pop-up produce initiative.
  • Assisted in food waste elimination: following daily support of the Central Market Program, members assisted with hand-distributing remaining items to nearby non-profits in need of fresh produce.

Training

To learn more information about the JLL’s current focus area of nutrition insecurity, the work we’re surveying and conducting to break the cycle of inequitable food access, or to explore and discuss a potential community partnership with the organization to eradicate hunger in Lancaster, please contact the Community Impact VP.