Keeping Things Cool for Buddhist Relief
Nobody is happy about wilted lettuce or other fresh-picked greens from local farms that have been left unrefrigerated for too long and have to be tossed . “ It ’ s especially tragic if you ’ re hungry and food insecure like one in four residents of Montgomery County are ,” says Anne Kanengeiser , Community Partnership Coordinator for KPC Buddhist Relief .
Until recently , Buddhist Relief volunteers scrambled to keep precious produce in good shape for distribution to their local partners in need of food . Fresh from the KPC Giving Garden or procured from other sources , greens and other vegetables are fragile , time sensitive , and play a life-giving role in helping to combat food scarcity and hunger .
According to the government website , www . foodsafety . gov : Perishable food that has been sitting out for more than two hours , or one hour if it ’ s above 90 ° F outside , can make you sick .
The key to prevent produce from perishing ? Refrigeration , of course ! A few months ago , Buddhist Relief applied for and was awarded a grant for the purchase of two commercial refrigerators . The FY24 Food Systems Infrastructure Grant Program is funded by The Montgomery County Department of Food Systems Resilience ( OFSR ) and the Morningstar Foundation , in partnership with the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services ( DHHS ) and Manna Food Center , and
KPC ’ s new refrigerators and refrigerated van safely store and transport fresh produce . awarded KPC Buddhist Relief $ 6,967 .
We originally wrote the grant for a 3-door refrigerator , but realized it was too large to fit through our doors . After consulting with the grant office , we were allowed to use the funding for the 2-door and 1-door versions of the same model , which ended up being almost the same cost .
These refrigerators have been a game changer for Buddhist Relief . One refrigerator is used for egg production and allows us to sort the eggs in their various stages of — before sizing and cleaning , packaged and sorted by size , eggs for sale , eggs purchased online , and eggs available for donation . The second is used to hold freshly picked produce from our Giving Garden before it is delivered to one of our partners as well as a holding shelf for perishable items we supply to our partners .
Additionally Buddhist Relief has been able to add a new refrigerated delivery van to its fleet due to the generosity of two longtime supporters . We are now able to safely distribute the 2,000 + pounds of food to our partner organizations each week . “ Both of these solutions keeping food fresh and healthy are real game changers ,” remarked Anne . “ In combination , these vital additions to our mission help us deliver more fresh produce and perishable items that need to be kept cold in transport , especially during Maryland ’ s hot summer months . They also allow us to stretch monetary donations to buy more produce , dairy and meat in bulk and give us a place to store it until it can be delivered .”
Currently , we are pursuing other grants — not just locally , but from Montgomery County , the State of Maryland , and private foundations — and are reviewing more grant opportunities to apply for to make a real difference for those experiencing food insecurity .
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