February 17, 2025

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Health's Like Heaven.

Initiative distributes free produce | Local News

In partnership with organizations such as the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Tar River Region, Harrison Family YMCA, Down East Partnership for Children and Redeemer Church, Ripe Revival Market is operating a Community Supported Produce Box Program to help provide food for families in need.

The program features produce that is typically considered excess due to size or cosmetic defects but is perfectly healthy and ready to be consumed.

For every box purchased, the Community Supported Produce Box Program will donate another box to a local family in need. The program works closely with local nonprofit organizations to identify families who would benefit most from the program.

The idea for the Community Supported Produce Box Program was born after the conclusion of the USDA Farm to Families Food Box Program.

Ripe Revival worked last summer directly with farmers to buy their produce, pack it into boxes and distribute it to families in need. They invested infrastructure and worked with over 40 organizations and hundreds of volunteers to pack and distribute over 5,000 boxes each week.

“We were inspired and moved by the unity that we saw amongst those serving our neighbors,” said Will Kornegay, co-founder of Ripe Revival Market. “The whole Farm to Families Food Box Program really opened our eyes to how impactful we can be in helping families in need. All businesses have been impacted by the virus, but we are in a position to still provide families with fresh foods.”

Kornegay said his hope is to make people and businesses in the area aware of the new initiative and to bring the community together to support people in need with a consistent supply of nutritious food.

“We believe if the community works together toward a common goal, people in need will not only benefit, but it’ll show others that there is truth to the statement, ‘unity builds community,’” he said. “Working with local organizations and providing food from the farms to the table, we are proud and humbled to be serving our neighbors.

“This program will also be supporting farmers by using fruits and vegetables that they did not originally have a home for.”

People interested in participating should order online. A box will be delivered to their home and a second box will be donated to a local family.

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