475 Students. 8 Schools. 41,000+ Servings. And We’re Not Done Yet.
As students, teachers, administrators, and families head back to school, all of us at Access to Fresh wish you a safe, productive, and rewarding school year filled with learning, discovery, and new opportunities.
The start of a new school year is also a chance to reflect on what we accomplished together this summer.
Through our Summer School Nutrition Program, Access to Fresh served 475 students and their families at eight Pasco County schools each week for six weeks, distributing more than 41,000 servings of fresh produce.
We’re grateful to the After School Enrichment and STAR programs for their support, to AdventHealth Wesley Chapel and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital for funding these incredibly impactful programs, and to one of our farm partners, Shady Oaks, for providing all of the delicious fresh produce.
But some of the most meaningful impact is harder to capture in a report.
It’s the way the kids looked forward to seeing us each week. The way some remembered us from previous summers. Their excitement to discover what fruits and veggies we brought next, and their curiosity—and courage—to try something new.
That’s the magic. And sometimes, the most important results are the ones you can’t measure on an impact report.
This summer reinforced something we believe deeply: schools are trusted spaces that can help connect children and families to fresh food, nutrition education, and opportunities to build healthier communities.
And as summer comes to an end, we’re already looking ahead.
With National Farm to School Month coming in October, we’re excited to be developing a new initiative:
Picked in Pasco: Growing Food, Health, and Futures.
There is more to come as the concept takes shape, but the idea behind it is simple: create more opportunities to connect students with fresh food, local agriculture, learning, and the possibilities that can grow from those connections.
Stay tuned. We’re excited about what’s ahead.
And if your business, foundation, healthcare organization, or community group is interested in helping us build on this summer’s impact through a donation or sponsorship, we’d love to talk about what we have planned for the coming school year—and how you can be part of it.
Here’s to a great school year and to continuing to grow healthier futures together.
