Veggie Van will be in Fountain Thursday.

Veggie Van will be in Fountain Thursday.

FOUNTAIN — Families in Fountain are invited to pick up a bag of free healthy produce when The Veggie Van makes a stop on Thursday, October 1, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Sherman Township Hall, 3854 E. Main St.

The goal of The Veggie Van program is to ensure that fruit and vegetables are available to people who otherwise have limited access to fresh produce. The Veggie Van, a mobile farmers market featuring regionally grown, top-quality fruit and vegetables, is a joint project of Spectrum Health and the YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids. Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital is also partnering with Lakeshore Food Club in Ludington on the event. The bags will be given out in a drive-up fashion to promote safe social distancing. All volunteers distributing the produce will be wearing masks.

“Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital is excited to share free healthy fresh fruit and vegetables with our rural area communities in convenient outdoor locations where we can safely observe social distancing guidelines,” said Drew Dostal, president of both Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital and Gerber Memorial Hospital. “During these challenging times, Spectrum Health is doing whatever we can to encourage families to eat nutritious food. By bringing The Veggie Van to convenient outdoor sites, we hope people will feel comfortable stopping by and picking up a bag of nutritious fresh produce, with recipe cards included.”

“We are honored to partner with Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital to bring fresh, healthy fruit and vegetables to our rural neighbors,” said O’Nealya Gronstal, executive director of Lakeshore Food Club. “As an organization we are committed to work toward innovative and effective solutions to providing fresh, nutritious food to the food desert areas of our community. When our friends at Spectrum approached me about partnering with them to bring the Veggie Van to the outlining areas, I knew we had to say ‘yes’!”

The event will be held drive-through style and participants are asked to remain in their cars. Staff members will put the bags of produce in vehicles and will wear masks to reduce transmission risks. Social distancing and safety protocols will be in place for safety.

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