‘Pop-Up Markets’ reach one-year anniversary of delivering healthy food

Volunteers from around Buncombe County will come together to celebrate the one-year anniversary of ‘Pop-Up Markets,’ an effort spearheaded by Buncombe County Health and Human Services and MANNA to provide a reliable source of healthy food to those in need. Here’s the full release:

Community Service Navigators Celebrate a Successful First Year of the Pop-Up Market Program Bringing Good Choices Within Reach

BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. – On March 24, over 50 volunteers from six different communities in Buncombe County will come together to celebrate the success of a new effort to address food scarcity in our community. Newly created “Pop-Up Markets” provide a reliable source of healthy food, community engagement and resource referrals within communities throughout the county. This unique approach was created through a partnership between Buncombe County Health and Human Services, the Buncombe County Service Foundation, MANNA FoodBank, the Asheville Buncombe Institute of Parity Achievement (ABIPA) and the SPARC Network.

“When a family doesn’t have enough food to eat, it is often connected to other challenges caused by conditions such as overwhelming stress, under-employment or health issues. The Pop-Up Markets are a great way to connect with individuals and neighborhood communities where we can address these needs at a local level bringing resources and better choices within reach,” said Rasheeda McDaniels, Community Service Navigator supervisor. “Our navigators work closely with volunteers within these communities to get food and resources to people that we would never be able to reach and while doing so also help them to move toward greater health, safety and self-sufficiency.”

These markets run bi-weekly in the community centers of local housing communities in Buncombe County. They rely on “just-in-time” food donations from MANNA FoodBank which often includes the healthy but perishable fruits, vegetables and bakery items that many local food pantries are not equipped to accept because they require immediate distribution. At each site, neighbors who qualify for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as Food Stamps) come to “shop” for groceries in a colorful, farmers’ market style setting, choosing their food items while catching up with friends and neighbors.

“The pop-up markets developed in partnership with Buncombe County Health and Human Services and MANNA is a model program for effectively distributing healthy, fresh, perishable foods quickly and in a smoothly coordinated fashion,” said MANNA Agency Relations Manager Katy German. “Often the healthiest foods are the most perishable foods, and it takes same-day distribution programs like the pop-up markets to ensure that highly perishable foods get to the people who need them.”

While shopping, participants are offered a variety of other services through local partners, such as blood pressure and weight monitoring from Mission Hospital and ABIPA. Recently, Dr. Rebecca Bernstein of Mission Hospital provided lipid panels and health consultation to “shoppers” at a Pisgah View Apartments market. Future markets will include a mobile dental clinic, immunizations, and educational components that are specifically requested by each unique neighborhood. The program now reaches 395 families, providing them with a warm connection to local services, as well as healthy food.

For more information about the Community Service Navigators or the Pop-Up Markets, please contact (828) 775-1321.