Photo by Sean Hemmerle
For over 40 years Dutchess Outreach has helped thousands of women, men, and children throughout Dutchess County. Through our food pantry we provide food to families whose cupboards are bare, our clothing closet provides lightly used clothes for children, our emergency relief programming ensures our clients can afford their medicine when they’re sick and that their lights and heat remain on, our community meal program, The Lunch Box, serves free, hot lunch and dinner meals to anyone who needs and provides a safe space for the community to gather, and our newest program, the Poughkeepsie Plenty Fresh Market, provides our community access to affordable, fresh, locally farmed foods. This year we have a unique opportunity to expand our farming production in our new farm located right in the center of the City of Poughkeepsie. Through this initiative, we seek to widen access to more nutritious foods, lower the instance of food insecurity, and increase the overall health and vitality of our community by creating a path toward a more local, sustainable, and equitable food system. We envision offering a community cure through the distribution of fresh, nutritionally dense foods and education on the importance of eating locally farmed foods for our bodies and our environment.