Nourishing NC - One Garden At A Time
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Community Garden Resources
Nourishing NC Newsletter
How Does Your Garden Grow?
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Research shows that when communities have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, they eat them - and they’re healthier for it, having lower rates of obesity, diabetes and other diet-related diseases. Unfortunately, many North Carolinians have limited access to fresh produce in their community. And they may not have adequate transportation to get it somewhere else. In many communities, it’s much easier and cheaper to access high-fat, high-calorie food from fast-food restaurants and convenience stores than to find a fresh apple, cucumber or head of lettuce.
To address this Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) and the North Carolina Recreation & Park Association (NCRPA) have joined forces to establish a community garden in all 100 counties by the end of 2013
NCRPA is expanding an existing collaboration with local health departments, cooperative extension agencies and parks and recreation departments to initiate a comprehensive, statewide community gardens program. Our partnership will help ensure that North Carolinians in every county have a means of sustaining a local source of healthy food.
Project Goals:
Nourishing North Carolina is an extension of BCBSNC’s long-standing commitment to improve the health and well-being of North Carolinians. If our vision is a success, at least 190,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables will be produced to:
- Supplement more than 149,000 meals with fresh fruits and vegetables
- Increase consumption of fruits and vegetables by at least two servings per day for
- 1,300 individuals overall
- Support food pantries and homeless shelters statewide with at least 20,000-pound donation of fruits and vegetables
- Provide 17,000 hours of physical activity through garden maintenance
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