"We have been able to shift our regular operations to provide nutritious food to some of our most impacted individuals and our community’s essential workers during this difficult time," says Emily Schwing, Marketing and Impact Manager for Veggielution.

Our #SiliconValleyStrongHeroes are a six-acre community farm and gathering space located in the City of San José's Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services' Emma Prusch Farm Park since 2008. Through their community farm model that mobilizes volunteers to cultivate and grow healthy crops, the organization is able to provide program participants and other local residents fresh veggies at affordable costs.

Recently, the City of San José awarded a $152,000-dollar Collective Impact Grant (CIG) to Veggielution to bring fresh foods to the local eastside community. The grant allowed them to pivot their operations to support the vulnerable populations in this area by creating Eastside Connect.

This newly created program provides critical meals and produce to those most in need by providing a farm box for pick-up and meals delivered straight to participants' doors once a week. By partnering with Spade & Plow farm and other local urban agriculture organizations, Eastside Connect is able to get produce and meals to our most food-insecure community members.

"We are so grateful for the willingness of these community leaders to step up to feed our most vulnerable neighbors, even as they are experiencing their own challenges," continues Schwing.

Each week, their staff and volunteers work together to pack boxes for pick-up and using their Eastside Grown program graduates, their food advocacy training program, they also prepare hot meals. Eastside Connect then delivers the meals using Veggielution's food truck to residents in East San José.

The program is a success and Veggielution is currently at capacity for their farm box program. However, if you would like to be added to their waitlist, please email info@veggielution.org with the subject line "Farm Box & Food Truck Meal Request" with your name, address, age, number of kids and contact number. Once an opening appears, their team will follow up with additional information on the farm box program.

If you would like to learn more about Veggielution's efforts in our community or volunteer, please visit https://veggielution.org.