Greener Partners’ Response to COVID-19

Due to COVID-19, Greener Partners is limiting its in-person education programming for 2020. Our Farm Explorer Truck will not be visiting schools, community sites or public events. We will not be leading field trips. We are providing robust options for virtual education programs, both live and pre-recorded, in our school, community, and healthcare settings. This policy is subject to change, based on facts on the ground.

Greener Partners has responded to the public health crisis and economic uncertainty caused by COVID-19 by focusing our time and resources on getting food to families and seniors in the neighborhoods we work with in West Philadelphia, Chester, and Norristown. We are collaborating with emergency food providers and community partners, including The Common Market, Friends Rehabilitation Center, People’s Emergency Center, and Centro de Cultura Arte Trabajo y Educacion, to distribute shelf stable items like potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, and apples. So far we have distributed over 11,500 pounds of produce to 2,250 families and seniors. 

We’re also continuing to grow food, as agriculture and community gardens were deemed essential by the City. We began the growing season at Deaver Farm at Lankenau Medical Center, where our staff has spinach, kale, brassica, and other greens in the ground, with more on the way. Our Farm Explorer team is forging ahead with community garden support, building beds and planting seeds, at partner schools and organizations. 

Now more than ever, it is important to take care of each other. We are grateful to work with partners so dedicated to strengthening communities and supporting neighbors when they need it most. This fresh food is going directly into communities where our Farm Explorer programming is based, where we support community gardens, and lead food and farming education in schools.

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