Healthier Lyon County is looking forward to making more progress in addressing food insecurity in the local community in the new year.
During a recent interview with KVOE News, Daphne Mertens of Healthier Lyon County discussed the recent launch of the organization’s new website a month ago www.EmporiaStrong.com. Mertens says the website has allowed Healthier Lyon County to detail much of its work in the local community in recent years and has helped make connecting residents in need with resources much simpler, especially amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
With the second phase of funding through the Blue Cross Blue Shield Pathways to a Healthier Kansas grant on its way to the community, Mertens says the organization has two big projects in development at this time. She says the first will be a food reclamation program for the county.
According to Mertens the program, also known as a food rescue, will seek to collect food that would likely go to waste from restaurants and other businesses and provide it to those in need.
Mertens says this program will tie in easily with the organization’s food shelf hunger relief effort that is also currently in development. The effort will strive to provide local food pantries with healthier fresh foods such as fruits and vegetables that are not always able to be easily stored in pantries due to shelf sustainability.
The effort will be a partnership between Healthier Lyon County, Emporia At the Table (EAT) and the Lyon County Food and Farm Council.
For more information on upcoming plans and projects through Healthier Lyon County visit EmporiaStrong.com or find Healthier Lyon County on Facebook.
