June 27, 2024 | By Emilie Jacques
Work with the $1.28 million Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement grant has been well under way for a while now, and it’s paying off in big ways with our July 2024 Meals on Wheels menu. When local food started to arrive under the funding of the LFPA grant, local ingredients were incorporated into just a few meals throughout the entire month. Now, Copper Shores Meals on Wheels is excited to be serving locally sourced ingredients in just about every meal.
“It has been a challenge, yet, at the same time, wonderful,” Copper Shores Meals on Wheels Kitchen Manager Tribin Holbrook said. “We’re required to do more processing and a little more work, but seniors enjoy it more, we know it’s healthier and we know where it comes from.”
Much of the food provided by Meals on Wheels has been localized, ingredient by ingredient, one partnership at a time. The funding from the LFPA grant allows us to partner with producers that are within a 400 mile radius of the Meals on Wheels kitchen through 2025. July is packed with delicious meals featuring food from all over the Copper Country and beyond.
- July 1: Seniors will be served an asian-inspired favorite, orange chicken, with meat provided by Buried Stone farms in Rock, and hand picked wild rice from Dynamite Hill Farm, an Indigenous farm in L’Anse.
- July 10: Meals on Wheels will be delivering beef and mushrooms with bison tips from Circle K Buffalo Ranch in Rudyard, and a local mushroom blend from Gordon's Foods.
- July 17: Frozen Farms, in Calumet, processed the meat that goes into meatloaf, a senior favorite.
- July 19: Seniors will once again be treated to the tastes of local fish, provided by Peterson’s Fish Market in Hancock. The wild rice from Dynamite Hill Farm will make another appearance. Long time partner Vollworth’s has once again made low sodium sausage, just for the seniors at Meals on Wheels. We’ll be using this in several meals throughout the month.
- All seniors will be receiving a 10 oz jar of Honey from Hilbert's Honey near Traverse City, as well as other LFPA eligible items this month.
“My favorite part of the LFPA grant has been the reaction from the community and the participation of the local farmers,” said Holbrook. “They are all getting on board. We are getting all kinds of calls from little farms that we didn’t even know were out there.”
While the changes have been welcomed additions to the menu in the first half of 2024, the longevity of these menu enhancements is dependent on continued funding. Financial support from the community not only helps seniors, but the farmers that have ramped up production to work with Meals on Wheels.
Please consider becoming a donor of Meals on Wheels. Feed a senior a freshly made, hot meal for only $8, or become a monthly donor to feed seniors all year. Learn more at coppershores.org/mealsonwheels.
