Healthy Eating CIRCL group meetings begin
Twenty-two Winchendon residents filled the Clark Memorial YMCA Community Room to capacity on Tuesday, November 12 for the first Winchendon Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) CIRCL group meeting, led by staff from the non-profit Growing Places in Leominster. Present were local food producers and retailers, representatives from the Town of Winchendon and town agencies, and citizen volunteers.
The meeting included a presentation, structured discussion time and wrap-up.
The main topic of discussion was the developing Winchendon Food Project which will help make healthy food available to Winchendon residents.
The presentation recapped the seriousness of Winchendon's status as an identified "food desert" since the closing of the IGA market in 2014. Our community suffers from one of the highest levels of chronic nutrition-linked diseases--such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and cancer--in the state. Fifty percent of Winchendon residents do not have cars. A third identify as "food insecure," meaning they are unable to access enough food on a regular and consistent basis. Two thirds report eating only 1-2 servings per day of fruits and vegetables, and fifteen percent do all their food shopping at convenience and dollar stores.
Many Winchendon residents wonder why another grocery store can't move into the former IGA building or another location in town. Two local supermarket chains, Market Basket and Donelan's, evaluated Winchendon as a possible site. Both chains said that Winchendon is simply not economically viable, based on the amount of traffic, the size of the town, and the proximity to multiple large supermarkets in Rindge and Gardner. As Growing Places said in their presentation, "The IGA went out of business for a reason."
The idea of a food co-op like the Monadnock Co-op in Keene, NH has been floated. But again, Winchendon doesn't have the population needed to support such an enterprise.
The solution HEAL hopes will work for Winchendon is community centered food distribution which will begin with CSA (community supported agriculture) Meal Kits. Unlike the boxes of "this week's harvest" members get from their CSA subscription, these "meal kits" will include healthy, locally produced food, nutritional information, tips and recipes for preparing the food, and additional supplies like seasonings, cooking oil, and so on. They will be a cross between expensive gourmet "dinner kits" and a CSA box of fresh produce. Meal kits will be affordably priced and distributed via pick-up or delivery from a central location in town (still to be determined).
The Winchendon Food Project is being designed as a "hub and spoke" model with the "hub" being a center that will essentially be a grocery store. It will sell CSA meal kits and fresh food, and will offer classes, information, locally made products of all kinds, workshops, and the visiting Mobile Food Market. It will contribute to Winchendon's micro-economy by giving food dollars directly to local farmers and producers, and paying local taxes. It will be immediately responsive to the unique needs of Winchendon residents.
After the presentation, the group had a facilitated discussion about the Project. Participants spoke about the need to place food in a larger context of healthy lifestyles and life skills all around. Many of the people most in need of healthier food options don't have access to fully equipped kitchens to cook, or reliable ways to safely store food. Local producers and farmers' markets need to be certified for the Massachusetts Healthy Incentives Program (HIP), which allows people on SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance) to use their cards to purchase fresh produce affordably.
Participants noted that for the Winchendon Food Project to be successful, it must engage the entire community, and not be seen as only for lower-income families. The Hub will offer high quality, locally produced food and products that everyone will want. It should also be an active community space--unlike a mere store, it will include common areas, classrooms, meeting spaces, a place to eat, and other community assets.
Participants agreed that they would take advantage of community garden plots if they were available. Murdock Farm is creating a community garden for the Murdock High School students--but school isn't in session for the most important part of the growing season. Volunteers who can help with the garden, mentor kids over the summer and provide transportation will help make the garden a success. The students will be able to take some of the produce home.
A project with this much depth takes time to develop.
From now through next May, the project will be in assessment and planning phases. Surveys of consumers, food producers and anchor institutions are underway. Concrete decisions will be made about the location of the hub, who will do the work of harvesting, prepping, packing and distributing food, and how to organize all the various elements--producers, volunteers, recipients and "spokes" radiating out from the hub.
As of next May, the project will be organizing and training volunteers and will begin delivering CSA Meal Kits and holding community events and cooking classes.
Everyone in Winchendon is urged to complete the new Market Survey about food options. HEAL needs at least 350 responses. The survey can be taken online here: Digital survey (Google form).
If you prefer to download a paper copy, you can click on this link: Downloadable survey (PDF). Paper surveys are also available at the Senior Center.
CIRCL groups will meet each month to work on this critical phase. Volunteers are welcome to join! The date and time of the next CIRCL meeting are still being determined. The Courier will list the meeting when it's announced.
HEAL Winchendon is co-sponsored by Heywood Hospital, Tufts Health Plan, the Winchendon School, and the Clark Memorial YMCA, and is part of the the larger CHNA 9 initiative for North Central Massachusetts. More information about the Winchendon HEAL project can be found here: growingplaces.org/programoverview/heal-winchendon/heal-winchendon-for-residents-consumers/.
