The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center today (May 14) announced the expansion of its Produce to the People program, which offers weekly fresh produce to anyone in Newport County free of charge.
In addition to offering this resource on Thursdays at the Center from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., the program has expanded to three additional locations throughout the week.
On Mondays, Produce to the People will be at Park Holm Senior Center at 1 Park Holm Newport, RI 02840 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. The Park Holm site will remain in operation year-round.
During the warmer months, Produce to the People will be available to the community at the following seasonal locations from May through October. On Wednesdays, the program will be at Oxbow Farms at 80 Rogers Lane Middletown RI, 02842 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m, and on Fridays at Donovan Manor at 19 Chapel Street Newport RI, 02840 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
“Because of generous funders and donors, we can now offer free fresh and often local produce four times a week. To support this volume of food, we contract with five local farms who grow specifically for the MLK. This ties into our values: we buy local whenever we can. Everyone should have access to healthy food but many in our community don’t. With the expansion of our Produce to the People program, we’ve increased food equity in Newport County,” said Heather Hole Strout, Executive Director of the MLK Community Center.
Founded in 1922 and renamed after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, the MLK Community Center celebrated 100 years of service to the community in 2022. The mission of the MLK Community Center is to nourish, educate, and support Newport County, Rhode Island residents to improve their economic, social and physical well-being. The MLK Community Center works to build a strong and inclusive community where all people are empowered to be self-reliant and to live their best quality of life. Last year, the MLK Community Center helped over 8,000 people and served over 1.1 million meals, the most in its history.
The MLK Community Center is located at 20 Dr. Marcus Wheatland Blvd., Newport, RI, and can be contacted at 401-846-4828 or www.MLKCCenter.org.
