Issue-Based Community Impact (IBCI) Focus Area: Nutrition Accessibility

During the 2014-2015 League year, the Junior League of Lancaster (JLL) began adopting specific issue areas as the primary focus of our service projects and initiatives. As of June 2022, our current Issue-Based Community Impact (IBCI) focus area is Food and Nutrition Accessibility. Our strategic mission within this realm is to positively impact the health and wellness of community members. Junior League of Lancaster is working on a multi-tiered initiative to break the cycle of inequitable food access in our community. With our work we aim to focus on nutrition education, food security and availability in an equitable and accessible way.

Since 2022, our trained legion of JLL volunteers embarked on a number of collaboratives, creative projects and long-term programming endeavors within our IBCI, all rooted with the intention of creating measurable reform within Lancaster County to combat the social, economic, and health implications of food and nutrition accessibility within our geographic imprint:

Direct Service

• Prepared, cooked, and served well-balanced lunches and dinners to Arch Street Center members
• Deployed committed volunteers to organize, sort, and box non-perishable goods and nutrient-dense recipes for children and families who receive weekend meals from Power Packs Project (highlights included packing 759 individual bags of potatoes in preparation for Thanksgiving, 797 single bags of walnuts ahead of the holiday season, 383 boxes of essential groceries, and 780 bags of almonds for everyday usage) 
• Hosted a collaborative volunteer day at the York County Food Bank, alongside York Junior League. This provided an opportunity for fellowship and learning opportunities amongst leagues.
• Joined the Central Market in their after-market program initiative, ensuring they can scale up to meet the needs of food bank utilizers. After Market closes for the day, Stand-holders offer free goods expiring before the next Market day. The program is designed to ensure nutritious food ends up on local tables rather than go to waste.

Collaborative Efforts

• Donated three raised, stained, and weatherproof garden beds to Arch Street Center that will allow current and future members with physical disabilities or traveling restrictions to plant and grow their own food on-site
• Executed a two-phase community co-op program with the Boys & Girls Club of Lancaster that entailed the clean-up and planting of a community garden behind the Jack Walker Clubhouse in downtown Lancaster harvests locally-grown, free produce for members, employees, and nearby residents beginning in July 2023 (through its introduction, BGC members will also be treated to experiential STEM-oriented programming opportunities, as well as educational life skills involving health and wellness)

Donations/Drives

• Collected 1,500 manual can openers for children and their families who are enrolled in the Power Packs Project program based in Lancaster, which through our research-based discovery process we determined was a critically overlooked need for recipients (this campaign, known as “Together We Can”, was a strategically designed project between our Community Impact Committee and our Fall 2022 Provisional Class, the latter of whom was required to complete a new member project by December 2022)
• Embarked on a fundraising campaign to raise over $2,000.00 in contributions from supporters and donors to stock Bench Mark Program‘s new kitchen facility with useful appliances and gadgets for members and staff to whip up healthy snacks and meals (this campaign, referred to as “Sponsor a Spoon”, was also a strategically designed project between our Community Impact Committee and our Spring 2023 Provisional Class, the latter of whom was required to complete a new member project by May 2023)
• Led a year long member-wide grocery card collection, to help provide free produce to communities that need it most.
• Embarked on a new member project, partnering with the Lancaster Public Library, creating a teen food pantry, stocked with healthy snacks and toiletries. New members created a long-term plan in collaboration with the community impact committee, ensuring the pantry would be restocked on an ongoing basis.
• Led a donation drive to support high-need pantry staples at the Lancaster County Food Hub.

New Initiatives

• Improved the nutrition for the most vulnerable populations by introducing free pop-up markets that will offer immediate access to fresh fruits and vegetables to neighborhoods. Launched in Summer 2023.
• Secured a grant from Aetna Health, ensuring a sustainable long-term support of the free pop-up produce initiative.
• Assisted in food waste elimination- Following daily support of the Central Market Program, members assisted with  hand distributing remaining items to nearby nonprofits in need of fresh produce.

Training

• Welcomed the Central PA Food Bank to General Membership Meeting, to share out the Lancaster County Hunger Mapping Report.
• Developed a subcommittee, focused on ongoing education and partner resource share.

To learn more information about the JLL’s current focus area of nutrition insecurity, the work we’re surveying and conducting to break the cycle of inequitable food access, or to explore and discuss a potential community partnership with the organization to eradicate hunger in Lancaster, please contact the Community Impact VP.