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- EIN 36-4635237
- info@crossroadscommunityfoodnetwork.org
- 301-615-3806
- 6930 Carroll Ave Ste 426 Takoma Park MD 20912 USA
- www.crossroadscommunityfoodnetwork.org
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- CrossroadsNtwk
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Nonprofit Overview
Causes: Human Service Organizations, Human Services
Mission: Crossroads Community Food Network is building a healthier, more inclusive food system in the Takoma/Langley Crossroads, a primarily immigrant, low-income community just outside Washington, DC. At the heart of this integrated network of food growers, makers, and consumers is Crossroads Farmers Market, where a "double-dollar" nutrition incentive program makes it easier for residents to bring home more healthy food, and at the same time helps support local farmers and vendors--the majority of whom are also immigrants and/or socially disadvantaged producers. Crossroads' programming also encompasses community-based healthy eating education, microenterprise training for small-scale food business entrepreneurs, and a community kitchen geared toward helping them succeed. We are proud of our ability to connect the dots and create symbiotic programs and relationships. While there are other area organizations that feed hungry people, promote healthy eating, or support local farmers or start-up food businesses, Crossroads is unique because its programs touch on all these necessary components of a sustainable local food system. The benefits are interrelated and multifold: increasing access to healthy food and knowledge about making healthy food choices contribute to increased food security and improved overall public health; creating a consistent demand for fresh fruits and vegetables helps make local, small scale farming more economically viable; and facilitating the transition to self-employment via entrepreneurship fosters financial stability. By connecting and empowering those who grow, make, and eat healthy food, Crossroads is helping an underserved community attain food equity and self-sufficiency.
Geographic areas served: Takoma/Langley Crossroads Community
Programs: The goal common to all of Crossroads' programs is to connect and empower people through healthy food. Crossroads Farmers Market and Fresh Checks Program: This initiative is founded on a simple idea: make fresh fruits and vegetables more accessible, and people will buy them. Eligible shoppers can stretch their buying power with Fresh Checks, which match the value of federal nutrition benefits spent on fresh produce--up to $20 each week. The program has grown significantly over the years: at the outset in 2007, $7,000 in incentives was distributed to 100 individuals, families, and seniors; in 2019, over 1,600 people received more than $70,000 in Fresh Checks. This season, we anticipate serving even more community members due to increased food needs during the pandemic and the availability of Pandemic EBT benefits. Healthy Eating: Crossroads' Healthy Eating program provides a series of hands-on healthy eating lessons to students and parents at local elementary schools with high FARMS (Free and Reduced-price Meals) participation. These fun and interactive sessions involve cooking demos, food tastings, farmer visits, and other activities. The program has been tremendously popular among parents, teachers, and kids, many of whom get to taste some foods (like mustard greens and pea shoots) for the first time. Microenterprise Training Program & Community Kitchen: Many of the people we serve are underemployed or unemployed, and the availability of adequate-paying jobs is a critical issue in this community. Crossroads provides free, bilingual business support that makes sometimes difficult-to-find and difficult-to-understand information more accessible. To date, 177 people have completed the program, and graduates are eligible to apply to use our Takoma Park Silver Spring Community Kitchen, which was developed with the Takoma Park Presbyterian Church to help meet the needs of small-scale food entrepreneurs.