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On efforts to prevent obesity and illness by creating healthy community environments
Community Garden Volunteers Bring Fresh Produce to Anderson Food Bank -- 800 Pounds of produce a Month!
Changing Policy Statewide to Help Community Gardeners Feed Those in Need
Community Garden Volunteers in Anderson Bring 800 Pounds/Month to the Local Food Bank 
In peak growing season, community volunteers at the thriving ACCA Community Garden in Anderson (Northern California) bring 800 pounds of fresh-grown produce to distribute to more than 600 families served by the ACCA Food Bank every month. Today, a dozen Anderson families cultivate plots at the ACCA Community Garden, and in exchange, they give 25 % of their harvest to the ACCA Food Bank, and they join other volunteers in growing produce on two large ACCA plots that provide 100% of their harvest to the food bank .
Community leaders in Anderson first invited local gardeners to share their harvest through the ACCA Community Garden that was started in 2008. More families were coming to the ACCA Food Bank, and there was too little fresh, nutritious food. They found support from the Anderson Partnership for Healthy Children, which had helped to organize community gardens with other Healthy Eating Active Communities (HEAC) partners ..
The California Convergence (www.CaliforniaConvergence.org) is an important resource for the ACCA Community Garden and Food Bank , where they find information for training and education, and for navigating policy change. They look for CAC alerts that invite their comments on state and federal policies, legislation that could impact the community garden and food bank and opportunities to promote partnerships between farmers and food banks; they learn about food financing bills and other opportunities for support; and they look for resources that can help them serve their community, and bring nutritious, fresh food to the growing numbers of families in need.
ACCA (Anderson Cottonwood Christian Assistance) Community Garden
ACCA (Anderson Cottonwood Christian Assistance) Food Bank
Contact: Barbara Thurman
barbthurman@gmail.com
2979 East Center St.
Anderson, CA 96007
