Charleston’s Fresh Future Farm now offering healthy to-go meals, ridesharing | Food

NORTH CHARLESTON— North Charleston’s Fresh Future Farm this month is instituting a fresh and healthy to-go meal plan. 

The nonprofit urban farm and grocery store that serves the Chicora-Cherokee neighborhood launches the new initiative Feb. 19 with a taco dinner and will continue through October with updated monthly offerings. 

To-go combo meals, available for $3 each to community members, will include a main entrée along with an anti-inflammatory salad, homemade dressing and herbal tea. 

They will be available for pickup from 3-5 p.m. every third Friday of the month and include educational materials about key ingredients in dishes and easy-to-follow recipes that can be re-created at home. 

According to Fresh Future Farm co-founder and CFO Germaine Jenkins, this is a way to continue providing affordable, delicious and nutrient-dense meals to the neighborhood during COVID-19.

At the start of quarantine, staff bagged up all of the available store inventory and donated it throughout the community. Then, there were seven months of bimonthly grocery deliveries in the neighborhood that included masks, gloves, cleaning supplies and meals. Grants and donations covered the cost.

The shop has cut back on hours during the pandemic as a safety precaution, but a need for the organization and its offerings is still immense, Jenkins said. 

“Our neighbors were struggling before COVID-19,” said Jenkins. “There’s an uptick in need beyond meals, but since we’ve had to shorten our hours of operation to keep our customers and staff safe, we decided to continue providing value-added meals at affordable prices.”

Jenkins estimates the farm will spend just under $11,000, or $1,150 per month, for chef pay, food costs, supply costs and the meal subsidy to operate this particular program. That figure doesn’t include the amount Jenkins expects the organization will pay residents to help manage the operation. Fresh Future Farm is seeking corporate sponsors to help cover the expenses. 

In addition to the to-go meal plan, the farm is also instituting a discounted rideshare program for residents without transportation.

Twice a month, residents can pay $5 for round-trip fares to doctor appointments or grocery stores beyond the Chicora-Cherokee neighborhood. The farm will then pay the balance of the trip. 

To be eligible for the pilot program, residents will need to visit the farm at 2008 Success St. during operating hours to pay the upfront cost and make trip arrangements. 

The store closed Feb. 3 due to possible exposure of a part-time employee to COVID-19 but has since reopened after all staff members tested negative. Jenkins said the potential contact happened outdoors and off-site with appropriate masks and gloves being worn, but the organization proceeded with caution due to the fact it serves a high-risk community. 

Fresh Future Farm’s reduced hours of operation during the pandemic are Wednesdays from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. 

Getting back to the normal 40-hour-a-week schedule will be determined by a number of factors, including drastically reduced infection rates, said Jenkins.

Reach Kalyn Oyer at 843-371-4469. Follow her on Twitter @sound_wavves.