Diversity & Inclusion
Generocity Baltimore

With community markets, Hungry Harvest looks to expand affordable produce access in food-insecure areas

Produce in a SNAP offers an in-person option for residents to pick up healthy food. The Baltimore startup is expanding the concept to new cities.

The Produce in a SNAP team at the UM Rehabilitation & Orthopaedic Institute. (Photo by Stephen Babcock)

On a recent Wednesday outside the University of Maryland Medical Center Rehabilitation & Orthopaedic Institute in West Baltimore, a small tent and large mobile unit attracted attention in the corner of the parking lot. Staff and patients walked over from the facility, and residents from the community pulled up around 4 p.m.
They were all there to grab a week’s portion of produce, which includes 2-3 fruits, 4-5 vegetables and a leafy green. Eggplant proved popular at this location.
“We want to empower people to take control of their health, so we also offer replacement items,” said Will McCabe. “If someone sees something in the bag they don’t want, they can replace it with something else.”
McCabe is food access manager with Baltimore startup Hungry Harvest, which runs a series of similar markets under the banner of Produce in a SNAP. Partnering with community organizations, the company coordinates weekly markets to provide an affordable, in-person way to access its boxes of its “ugly produce” that was discarded by farmers. The startup has a mission to fight hunger with its services, and team members realized that people on SNAP benefits (fka food stamps) couldn’t get access to its delivery service. The reason: SNAP doesn’t widely allow online purchases (though there have been pilots at some grocery stores).
“We deliver to people’s doorsteps and people put in their credit card information, but someone on SNAP can’t do that. So we thought, OK, let’s go target communities with concentrations of people living with food insecurity, people who have SNAP or EBT, and come to them.”
To set up the markets, Hungry Harvest looks to partner with organizations like schools, health centers and other community groups. University of Maryland Medical Center is a partner on three market locations in Baltimore, with others at the West Baltimore MARC stop and its Midtown hospital. The locations have provided 10,462 pounds of produce so far.
“On our list it came that Healthy Food Priority Areas – previously known food deserts – were in need and a lot of our patients that we were seeing in a lot of our programs were having trouble getting access to healthier food options. A lot of them use the corner stores or 711 for their weekly shopping or dietary needs,” UMMC community health specialist Asunta Johnson said.
Along with food access, health is an important component of the markets. UMMC provides recipe information for the food offered in the produce bag. The health organization also brings its mobile unit along, offering the option for BMI and blood pressure checks.

Produce in a SNAP in West Baltimore. (Photo by Stephen Babcock)

Produce in a SNAP in West Baltimore. (Photo by Stephen Babcock)


The markets are driven by Hungry Harvest’s mission, but it’s also a for-profit startup that has to consider the business case for each initiative. So the company made sure the markets were sustainable.
“Because it’s self-sufficient, all the money generated goes back to cover the costs of produce and delivery. That allows us to be able to grow to new locations,” McCabe said.
Produce in a SNAP is already being introduced in D.C., and the company plans to set up markets in Philly next year. That growth is happening in addition to expansion of the delivery service.

Companies: Hungry Harvest

Before you go...

Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.

3 ways to support our work:
  • Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
  • Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
  • Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
The journalism fund Preferred partners Our services
Engagement

Join our growing Slack community

Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!

Trending

Meet Baltimore's winners in the 2024 Technical.ly Awards

Techstars lets early-stage startups show off in Baltimore

Leadership lessons from Baltimore’s Key Bridge collapse, a defining crisis event

Interactive timeline: top moments from Baltimore’s challenging yet inspiring year in tech

Technically Media