assistance organizations to connect families that screen positive for food insecurity and / or chronic diet-related disease, with nutrition education and food assistance. Adventist Healthcare, which has been a recipient of Food as Medicine grant funding since the spring of 2024, provides participating households with fresh produce from One Acre Farm in Dickerson, along with shelf-stable foods and frozen protein right outside Mercy Clinic in Gaithersburg.
“ One Acre Farm has been integral to the success of our Food as Medicine program. We consistently receive positive feedback regarding the quality and freshness of the produce from both enrolled families and community members who encounter the program firsthand,” said Henry Artigues, Grants Director at Adventist HealthCare.
“ Farmer Mike works closely with our team and has even adjusted growing plans to better align with the cultural preferences and dietary habits of the families we serve.”
FY25 COMMUNITY FOOD ASSISTANCE
33 %
FOOD LOCALLY SOURCED
$ 1.7 M
SPENT ON LOCALLY SOURCED FOOD
FY25 SCHOOL-BASED FOOD ASSISTANCE
23 %
FOOD LOCALLY SOURCED
$ 242,868
SPENT ON LOCALLY SOURCED FOOD
Expanding Local Food Access through Food Aggregation
Alongside these grant-funded investments, Montgomery County is also prioritizing the development of sustainable infrastructure needed to strengthen the regional food supply chain and ensure that local food can continue to reach local communities in the long-term. This summer, OFSR will make a single grant award through the FY26 Food Aggregation Grant Program, which launched in February of this year and is designed to expand opportunities for small and mid-sized farms to access institutional and wholesale markets.
Anybody interested in solving, rather than profiting from, the problems of food production and distribution will see that in the long run the safest food supply is a local food supply, not a supply that is dependent on a global economy. ~ wendell berry
FY25 FOOD AS MEDICINE
68-100 %
FOOD LOCALLY SOURCED
$ 396,818
SPENT ON LOCALLY SOURCED FOOD
LOCAL FOOD TOTALS
41 %
AVE. LOCALLY SOURCED ACROSS PROGRAMS
3.12 M
POUNDS OF FOOD
$ 2.3 M
SPENT ON LOCALLY SOURCED FOOD
plenty I summer growing 2026 5