Green to Go! mobile food pantry brings fruits, veggies and resources to Laconia Aug. 5

LACONIA — NH Healthy Families’ Green to Go! Van will offer fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meat, and resources to families in need at Concord Hospital-Laconia from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 5, or until all food is distributed. The event is free and open to the public.

NH Healthy Families started the Green to Go! mobile food pantry in October 2019. Every year, the van brings fresh produce and meat to eight locations throughout the state. Although hunger relief is a large goal, Green to Go! goes beyond that, connecting families experiencing food insecurity with nutritional education, care managers, mental health and social services support.

“The event is a really critical access point for us to community members, and in particular the members of our health plan, because we have a range of services that we can supply to our members to meet their needs,” said Christopher Kennedy, vice president of external relations for NH Healthy Families. “Oftentimes, one of the greatest challenges is getting ahold of them.”

Green to Go! brings collaborative, fun-filled community events to those who need them, tackling medical and non-medical challenges families are facing. Events have tables set up for fresh food, as well as local organizations stocked with resources about housing, foster care, and mental health.

This is the first time Green to Go! will stop at Concord Hospital-Laconia, although the mobile food initiative is no stranger to the Lakes Region.

Since the very beginning, Hannaford has been the program’s key distribution partner, supplying fresh produce and lean meats. Each location Green to Go! visits has a community partner, usually a health center or hospital. The van recently stopped at Goodwin Health Center, in Somersworth, serving roughly 200 people.

The state Department of Health and Human Services also routinely partners with Green to Go!, to spread awareness for public health campaigns.

“It was particularly useful for them during the pandemic, when they were trying to spread awareness around, for example, vaccination,” Kennedy said. “So, it's really been successful in that regard, where we now have state regulators and state partners kind of dovetailing off our footprint, to serve their needs with the population, as well.”

The Green to Go! mobile food pantry also provides access to Medicaid renewal and enrollment, and August is Medicaid Open Enrollment month.

During the event, program navigators will staff resource tables, ready to set up individuals, or families, for Medicaid. They can apply there, or get resources to make a later decision. For Medicaid members, program navigators can connect them with care managers, who can help evaluate holistic health, offer health screenings, and ensure they are on the proper treatment plan for chronic diseases.

Samantha Karam, marketing and communication coordinator at NH Healthy Families, works at the events. She shared a moment which stuck with her from an event last year.

A woman using an oxygen mask came to the event with her two grandchildren. Her husband had just died, and she was unable to work. “Thank you for dinner tonight for me and my two grandchildren,” she said to Karam. 

“To me, that was the first time ever hearing something like that. It touched me, and you could tell it touched everybody else that was there, as well,” Karam said.

Karam, along with other program navigators, helped the woman enroll in Medicaid on the spot, and gave her additional resources.

“Sometimes, people who come through, they'll even take bags for their neighbors, or for a family member. And it's just like the community helping the community. It's great to see that we're helping more than just the person that we're in front of,” Karam said.

Kerry Pascetta, NH Healthy Families director of marketing and communications, coordinates onsite planning and execution of Green to Go! events. She said many times, they run out of food in the first 30 to 60 minutes of the event, with lines of people “50 deep” before they are done setting up. The mobile food pantry initiative gives away around 3,000 bags of food every year.

“So, we really see the need, and it is a very happy event. Families come through with kids, and there's something for everyone. The prize wheel has large and small prizes. And as people are waiting to get their food or bags of food, they're learning,” Pascetta said. “They're being educated, or they're learning about nutrition, or just taking flyers for more information about Medicaid. And then they're walking through, and the kids are playing with the bubble machine. Everyone is just very happy, and appreciative.”

Pascetta said at each stop Green to Go! makes around the state, Bruce the Moose, a loyal mascot, is there helping out the Kids Club. Low tables are filled with kid-friendly nutrition bowls and backpacks with seasonal items, such as towels, sunscreen, and sunglasses in the summer. Green to Go! partners with Scholastic to give away books, for children from toddlers to teens.

Although Green to Go! will be at Concord Hospital-Laconia for three hours, organizers say food goes quickly, usually bringing between 150 and 200 attendees to each event.

“Healthcare is more than just getting in to see a doctor, and obviously food and nutrition is a critical component of someone's overall health and well-being,” Kennedy said. “And so, when we saw a need, and obviously we continue to see a need, we stepped up to develop the Green to Go! program, and we've stuck with it ever since.”