"Neighborhood Provisions” Food Access Initiative Launches
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health (D-HH) is collaborating with community partners around the region to help improve food access amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontline health care workers at D-HH have identified that elderly and immunocompromised patients and community members are lacking resources to find food options that could be delivered to their homes.
Identification of this gap led to the development of a web-based resource called “Neighborhood Provisions.” The website will facilitate food distribution by identifying those resources for patients and community members who should not be going out to pick up prepared food or groceries due to the increased risk of infection. Resources on the website include a listing of restaurants, small grocers and farms, support and delivery help. The website will also facilitate donations to food shelves to provide access to groceries to individuals and families who are experiencing food insecurity and hunger due to economic circumstances.
In addition to D-HH, those involved with the project include the Upper Valley Haven, Granite United Way, the Greater Manchester Chamber, the Upper Valley Business Alliance and Image Relay as the digital liaison between the website and the user. Families in Transition and the office of Manchester, NH, Mayor Joyce Craig are also involved in the project.
Neighborhood Provisions is a pilot program in the Upper Valley and Manchester, NH. It will continue for as long as necessary to address the COVID-19 crisis, and if successful, may become a permanent part of the food supply landscape as a resource to get food to the most vulnerable people in our communities.For more information visit neighborhoodprovisions.org.
