Galveston’s Own Farmers Market Receives Sub-Grant Funding Award from It’s Time Texas and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas

A total of $40,000 has been awarded to Galveston’s Own Farmers Market to help their mission, addressing food insecurity in the Galveston County community.

Galveston, Texas — Galveston’s Own Farmers Market (GOFM) received a generous sub-grant from the statewide nonprofit It’s Time Texas, whose mission is to empower Texans to lead healthier lives and build healthier communities. Thanks to It’s Time Texas’ partnership with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas and their Healthy Kids, Healthy Families grant, the “Good Food for All” Project will kick off this spring and be completed by the end of 2022.

The ‘It’s Time Texas and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas’ funding was given to community-based organizations that deliver effective programs and services that improve critical health outcomes and address root causes of health disparities by removing barriers to access and advancing community conditions for health and wellness.

“We are very excited to be entering year two of this partnership with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas,” said Amy McGeady, CEO of It’s Time Texas. “It’s Time Texas is proud to support the work of these community organizations who are pursuing a pathway to health equity and are removing barriers to health access within Texas.”

“GOFM is rooted in improving our community’s health, increasing food access, and supporting local agriculture,” said Casey McAuliffe, Executive Director. “The ‘Good Food For All’ project empowers us to address our previous lack of resources focused on the local Latinx community while buoying our existing success in growing/providing nourishing food and agricultural learning within our local school district.”

Our project feeds our community, develops an inclusive strategy for reducing food insecurity, and cultivates leadership skills for our local youth through food and collaborative outdoor learning. ‘Good Food For All’ focuses on inclusive long-term strategies for countering food insecurity among the Spanish-speaking households in our community by employing a fluent bilingual Food Access Advocate dedicated to building trusted relationships, with the ultimate goal of increasing overall redemption of SNAP at our farmer's markets by 50% to $6,500. Additionally, we’ll reinforce our current Farm to School work within Galveston ISD and expand our monthly fresh vegetable taste-testings from 400 to approximately 900 students per month.

Access to fresh food is our foundation, and over the past 10 years, we've built impactful people-powered programs centered on our ability to provide direct access to local food paired with practical hands-on education for our community. This funding from It’s Time Texas and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas leverages our experience in this field and gives us the needed boost to truly make ‘good food for all.’

Learn more about “Good Food for All” and follow the project’s progress throughout the year by visiting: cich.itstimetexas.org.

ABOUT IT’S TIME TEXAS:

It’s Time Texas is a statewide 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It’s Time Texas’ mission is to bring people, communities, and organizations together to take action that supports health for all, now and in generations to come. At It’s Time Texas, we believe that every Texan should have an equal opportunity to live a long and healthy life. www.itstimetexas.org

About Galveston’s Own Farmers Market

Founded in 2012, Galveston's Own Farmers Market is a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to connecting our community to local foods through year-round weekly farmer's markets, food access initiatives, school gardens, and health and food education opportunities. Learn more about our programs: https://galvestonsownfarmersmarket.com/about

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Galveston’s Own Farmers Market Media Contact:

Casey McAuliffe, Executive Director

casey@gofarmersmarket.com

It’s Time Texas Media Contact:

Natalie Martin

Natalie.Martin@ItsTimeTexas.org