FOOD Share Picks up $20,000 for its Kids’ Farmers’ Markets

OXNARD, Calif. - July 31, 2013 - PRLog -- OXNARD, Calif. (July 31, 2013) – Children in the Oxnard area will now have access to nutrition education at kids-only farmers’ markets. Thanks to the Oxnard Monsanto site, FOOD Share will be able to support five of its local Kids’ Farmers’ Markets, using a $20,000 grant from the Monsanto Fund. The Monsanto Fund strives to meet the critical needs of rural communities by investing in local projects focused on K-12 education, hunger and nutrition, and first responders.
The organization, a nonprofit in Oxnard, Calif., is Ventura County's food bank and is dedicated to feeding, nourishing and educating the hungry in Ventura County. FOOD Share will utilize the grant to sustain five Kids’ Farmers’ Markets, which are part of a comprehensive program that provides short- and long-term solutions for hungry children in Ventura County. The program takes a three-pronged approach to dietary education: nutrition education lessons, hands-on cooking lessons and a free farmers’ market for low-income children in under-served communities.
“Our youth program is one of FOOD Share’s most important initiatives,” said Bonnie Weigel, president and CEO of FOOD Share. “We are so pleased that the Monsanto Fund is providing funds for our Kids’ Farmers’ Market program.”
               Monsanto employees from the Oxnard site frequently donate their time to FOOD Share’s community improvement efforts, logging more than 80 volunteer hours toward the cause.
“FOOD Share has implemented an innovative program to not only provide food to hungry children but also to address the root causes of hunger,” said Eduardo Flores, NAFTA operations director at the Oxnard site. “The $20,000 grant will support five Kids’ Farmers’ Market sites, serving approximately 250 low-income children in total.”
“The funding will provide much-needed healthy and fresh food to the children we serve and their families, while providing hands-on learning that promotes wellness and nutrition in the home,” Weigel added.
This year, the Monsanto Fund awarded 127 site grants to nonprofit organizations in 26 states. In California alone, ten site grants were awarded and totaled $135,000. The Monsanto Fund continues to provide support to organizations such as FOOD Share, to help strengthen communities where farmers and Monsanto employees live and work.

About the Monsanto Fund

The Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of the Monsanto Company, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the farm communities where farmers and Monsanto Company employees live and work. Visit the Monsanto Fund at www.monsantofund.org.

About FOOD Share
The food bank distributing millions of pounds of food each year to those in need throughout Ventura County, FOOD Share collects and receives food year-round, distributing through more than 162 pantry partner agencies throughout Ventura County, including Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Oak View, Ojai, Oxnard, Santa Paula, Simi Valley, Somis, Thousand Oaks and Ventura.

FOOD Share provides food to more than 74,500 people each month countywide through its partner agencies and multiple programs. Programs include the Senior Brown Bag that provides supplemental nutrition to nearly 2,000 low income seniors, home delivered meals and supplemental groceries through the Oxnard and Ventura Senior Nutrition Programs and, the Kids’ Farmers’ Markets, offering nutrition education, healthy recipe preparation and taste testing and a farmers’ market free fresh produce “shopping experience.”

In 2011, FOOD Share partnered with Ventura County’s Human Services Agency to provide expanded CalFresh enrollment assistance. CalFresh, formerly called food stamps, is the largest federal nutrition assistance program that provides supplemental nutrition assistance to eligible Ventura County residents. In May 2013, FOOD Share established a partnership with Southern California Gas to further expand and support the hungry individuals the food bank serves. The Southern California Gas CARE Program provides a further source of support to individuals and families who are struggling to make ends meet. The CARE program provides relief through discounted gas utility bills for individuals and families.