2023 Garrett County Food Access & Infrastructure Initiative Programming & Systems Outline

Health Strategist, Shelley Argabrite and her team at the Garrett County Health Department are leading the charge to create infrastructure in the form of a nonprofit with a multisector board which will aid in the ease of resource coordination to address food and nutrition security in Garrett County. Partners from the University of Maryland Extension, Garrett Growers, and Garrett County Government are integral partners in the effort.

This collaboration is made possible through funding from the Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control at the Maryland Department of Health. For the second year, the grant award, State Partnerships Improving Nutrition & Equity (SPINE), will support community collaborations through the Health Planning Council to promote food and nutrition security and stand up sustainable efforts.

Additional partners from the Western Maryland Food Council, Garrett County Farm Bureau, Mountain Fresh Farmers Markets, and others are sharing their thoughts. We’ve voted on a name for the nonprofit, Appalachian Farm & Food Alliance, Inc.

Partnerships with Southern Garrett High School, and WIC are providing healthy recipes, cooking demonstrations, and other tips for making affordable meals are available on the gogarrettcounty.com website. By watching videos and reading short articles on the website, Garrett County residents can earn points for gift cards, fresh produce from Garrett Growers, gas cards, and many other incentives to improve wellness.

Many faith-based and community organizations provide meals and additional resources that help food-insecure individuals and families. Part of this funding will help us learn more about the needs of those organizations and begin coordinating services where appropriate. You’ll find a link to the HUNGRY brochure that was put together in 2022. If you are an organization that provides food or know of one that isn’t listed please reach out to Melissa Bolyard to make sure it’s updated.

Finally, the last focus area of this funding is data. Presenting what we know about food and nutrition in our community and beginning to quantify more specifically food and nutrition needs. See the Data Insight HERE: https://garretthealth.org/data-insight-2022-b-food-and-nutrition-security/

To be a part of these meaningful efforts to make Garrett County hunger-free, visit mygarrettcounty.com and join the Food Council action group found here, https://mygarrettcounty.com/groups/social-determinants-of-health/. Follow the progress with real-time data reporting and get updates to stay informed.