Produce distributed for free to seniors at an Elmwood community event, July 2026
One in three RI households is food insecure. Rising prices and cuts to federal food assistance stretch families even further. This season, three partners helped meet the nutrition needs of thousands of people by purchasing produce grown by farmers in SCLT’s network. Healthy Food Access Program Manager Kakeena Matos forged a new partnership with Urban Greens Co-op Market, South Providence’s community-owned grocer, stocking its shelves with network-grown produce from July through November where it travels less than ten miles from field to shelf. Brown University Health distributed shares of SCLT veggies through its Food Is Medicine initiative, a produce prescription for patients who manage an existing health condition. The RI Community Food Bank purchased produce to distribute to hundreds of families in SCLT’s network.
Our Free Farm Stands Project, started last year, brings the harvest directly to neighbors, joining resource and celebration events hosted by community-based partners and open to the whole community. This year, 16 stands served 1,275 people and distributed more than 7,650 pounds of produce at no cost to attendees. In July, we hosted a Free Farm Stand at the teen-produced Summer Celebrations Block Party presented by New Urban Arts. In August, we set up stands at SISTA Fire’s Community Forum and DARE’s Black August celebration. At Family Fun Day, put on annually by Rob Levine Law at India Point Park before the start of the school year, 500 pounds of produce was claimed in less than half an hour. When Partnership for Providence Parks surveyed people who took home SCLT produce at Providence recreation centers, they called it “a lifeline,” “fuel,” and “a treasure.”
Every stand carries a variety of culturally familiar crops, with herbs like cilantro, parsley, and basil, to cooking greens like collards, kale, amaranth and potato greens, plus seasonal crops like tomatoes, beets, chayote, peppers, pumpkins, eggplant, garlic, ginger, onions, squash, and honey. People choose what they want, with no strings attached. Many fill bags with their children, an elderly parent, or a neighbor in mind.
Supporting the work is Farah Figuereo, who joined in July as our Seasonal Food Access Associate.
Seasonal Food Access Associate Farah Figuere
