Alma del Mar announces partnership with Coastal Foodshed
Pair to focus on healthy food access with weekly Mobile Farm Stands
NEW BEDFORD – Alma del Mar is thrilled to announce it will partner with Coastal Foodshed to bring a weekly Mobile Farm Stand to its Near North End school beginning in June.
Beginning on Friday, June 7, Coastal Foodshed will use Alma’s field to offer the sale of local, in-season vegetables as well as cooking demonstrations and food tastings. The outdoor Mobile Farm Stand will be held at Alma del Mar every Friday from 3-5 PM this summer and fall.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Alma del Mar to bring local, fresh food to neighborhood families and staff. We were fortunate to partner earlier this year and saw the impact of what food education and access to local food can do for members of the community. We are grateful for the support Alma del Mar has provided to allow us to expand our program,” said Kim Ferreira, Co-Founder of Coastal Foodshed.
Coastal Foodshed is a nonprofit that works to connect people to local food and local farmers. Alma secured grant funding to support its partnership with Coastal Foodshed and ensure the organization will be able to serve even more New Bedford neighborhoods in the coming years. In addition to managing the New Bedford Farmers Markets, the organization launched a pilot Mobile Farm Stand in July 2018 and sold fresh, local produce in three New Bedford neighborhoods. They also conduct many nutrition education events (year-round) to keep local food in the hands of those who need it most.
This is part of a wider effort for Alma to show service to its neighbors in the Near North End. The school plans to open its doors to a selection of local groups who offer services targeted at youth, healthy food access and English for speakers of other languages at little or not cost to New Bedford families.
“We built this new school not only for our hard-working scholars, but also for our neighbors here in the Near North End,” said Becca Kurie, Development Manager at Alma del Mar. “We have always encouraged community groups to use our beautiful space. Moving forward, we want to be more intentional about opening our doors to the community in ways that will benefit a variety of local groups.”
This initiative is being supported by the Mifflin Memorial Fund, a Boston-based philanthropic group that has supported Alma del Mar since its inception. The Mifflin Memorial Fund gives grants primarily in the human services and educational areas, focusing on low income and minority populations.
About Alma del Mar:
Alma del Mar is a K-8 public school operating under a five-year charter granted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The school is tuition-free and is open to all children in New Bedford. Our mission is to put every one of our scholars on the path to college and to challenge them to be service-minded leaders. We are achieving this mission by providing a highly demanding, highly supportive education to every scholar who walks through our doors. Alma del Mar features a longer school day, a longer school year, high expectations for all scholars, and outstanding teachers from across the country. We currently serve about 450 scholars in grades K-8.