A grant from the Virginia Department of Agriculture is helping a local food pantry provide more free locally-grown food for those in need.
SERVE (Stafford Emergency Relief through Volunteer Efforts) now offers a walk-up farmers market with a “mind-blowing array and quantity of fresh produce,” according to executive director Lee Cheney.
“This will be the norm going forward,” Cheney said. “The purpose of the grant is to be able to procure locally grown food from Virginia farmers to our low-moderate income neighbors who have little to no access to fresh food options.”
The outdoor market is at 15 Upton Lane in Stafford and is stocked Monday through Thursday with fruits and vegetables from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Inside, residents can get dairy, eggs, grains, and honey. On Thursdays, residents can return for the leftover produce if they want to preserve food by canning for later use.
Other food and household items are distributed using SERVE’s regular full pantry services, for which residents need to sign up.
Rising inflation costs have crippled families’ budgets, said Cheney.
“The first bucket of money to get cut in a household budget is food money,” she said. “If you are struggling to put healthy food options on your dinner table, due to rising costs or challenging times, we welcome you to the produce market.”
For those who can’t make it to SERVE, their mobile food pantry is partnering with Mary Washington Healthcare to bring the produce to local facilities, thanks to another grant.
The mobile produce market will be at the Stafford Hospital on the second and fourth Thursdays of every month through November, in the large back parking lot from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and at Stafford Lakes next week. 
The plan is to have the refrigerated box truck rotate locations of healthcare facilities for anyone struggling to afford food.
“Mary Washington Healthcare has been a wonderful supporter for SERVE as we continue to find better approaches to serving our guests,” Cheney said. “The social determinants of health associated with little to no access to healthy food for our low-moderate income families continues to be a challenge and this grant award will change that narrative.”
