Hunts Point Alliance for Children (HPAC)
In September 2008 Heather pledged $1million in food to the Hunts Point alliance for Children (HPAC), where Heather serves as an Honorary Chairwoman. The project of supplying healthy plant based food into the community over a period of 4-5 years is now in full swing and we are really pleased to share with you some of the positive impacts that the donation is having on the Hunt’s point community in the Bronx, NY.
The Hunts Point donation strikes right at the heart of New York City’s worst rates of obesity, diabetes and asthma. As part of the donation, a new VBites community cafe has been established in the Bronx for the support of the program where HPAC and other community organisations are able to distribute healthy food donations, organize community initiatives and co-ordinate this drive to healthy eating.
- 7 mini-kitchens have been provided to partner organizations so that they are able to prepare healthy snacks with vegan food and carry out healthy cooking demonstrations. Each of these kitchens includes two hotplates, appropriate cookware and cooking utensils, and a seven cubic ft freezer to store vegan food on-site.
- VBites produce through donation allowed Project HOPE, a community health centre located on the main street of Hunts Point, to host 6 months of weekly cooking classes demonstrating VBites vegan cooking with vegetables, such as green beans, eggplant and broccoli. All participants were then given food to replicate the recipes at home.
- No Beef Thursday Nights provide free VBites vegan dinners for local teens each week. Between 12/08-6/09 we served food to an average of 30 students per week. When the program was restarted in 10/09 to the present day the average has increased to serving an average of 50 people weekly.
Produce distribution began in February 2009 on a bi-weekly basis and due to community enthusiasm was started on a weekly basis in November 2009. Currently, an average of $1800 per week of healthy plant based food is distributed to neighbourhood programs including.
- Fruit for afterschool programs; such snacks replaced high sodium and calorie snacks such as cookies and crackers. This reaches approximately 150 youth per day through the Shakespeare, the POINT, Rocking the Boat, and the City Recreation centre.
- Mid-day snacks for local elementary students to keep their focus through the end of the day. Prior to distribution, teachers were complaining their students needed a boost, but had no money to provide snack.
- Daily salad bar in private middle school, serving 85 youth, to augment the school lunch provided by the city.
- Use in cooking programs and nutrition demonstrations at local health provider, Project HOPE, who also work with housing partner SEBCO to demonstrate use of VBites products with vegetables to Hunts Point residents.
- Direct provision to families in shelter situation once per month, approximately 60 families each month.
- Direct provision to 35 families in one of the poorest housing complexes in the city, combined a total of 95 children each week receive fresh fruit, lettuce and tomatoes, along with VBites products.
- Weekly distribution of VBites to an average of 25 families reaching up to 100 children each week.
On Martin Luther King Day 2010, 450 families in the community received VBites mincemeat and vegetables with a recipe for a home cooked meal where a total of 1900 individuals were served.
At community events such as Back to School Fair, Earth Day Celebration, Rocking the Boat’s Semester Parties, City Year Celebrations VBites chicken patties and burgers are featured. At this year’s Back to School Fair, three local chefs prepared VBites vegan food for the community, along with a cook-out. Each event serves between 50-400 residents.
Maryann Hedaa, Managing Director of Hunts Point Alliance for Children said "The response to the program has been tremendous, and continues to grow. Education about good nutrition is at the heart of the program, and making a positive difference to the lives of the Hunt’s Point community the core in reaching families in need."
For further information please visit http://www.hpac10474.org/
New York Times article about Heather's work with the Hunts Point Alliance - click here
