Seattle Churches Support Local Farmers & Healthy Foods With Wholesale Market

SEATTLE, July 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Starting July 20 through August 31, Moving Together in Faith & Health will host the Seattle Wholesale Market at Mount Zion Baptist Church on Wednesdays from 8:45 a.m. to 10 a.m.  Moving Together in Faith & Health is an interdenominational consortium of churches with one mission — promoting health in communities of color and low-income neighborhoods in King County through church policy and systems change. The faith-based group is partnering with the Puget Sound Food Network to coordinate the weekly market.

"As we move together to implement policies that promote healthy eating and active living in our churches, our partnership with the Puget Sound Food Network and its Seattle Wholesale Market will make fresh, locally grown produce affordable and accessible," says Mount Zion's Senior Pastor, Rev. Aaron Williams. "We are empowering our churches and our community by giving them healthy options."

In 2008, a King County survey found that only 25 percent of people of color were "very healthy," compared to 46 percent of whites. Experts say low-income and African-American children may actually die or become disabled before their parents because of the early development of hypertension and diabetes.

With the Seattle Wholesale Market, Moving Together in Faith & Health will help local communities in two important ways. First, the market will provide church food programs with affordable, nutritious foods that prevent the diseases associated with poor diet. Second, the market will connect local businesses with small and mid-sized farmers who offer fresh produce at discounted rates.  

The weekly Seattle Wholesale Market will serve four underrepresented populations: low-income residents, communities of color, neighborhood businesses, and small to mid-sized farmers who often experience difficulty generating high sales volumes. Unlike traditional farmers market, the Seattle Wholesale Market is not geared towards individuals, but instead focuses on local businesses that need larger quantities of food at discounted prices. These include restaurants, grocery buyers, hospitals, preschools, churches and senior centers.  

Dr. Doris Boutain, University of Washington School of Nursing Principal Investigator on the Moving Together in Faith and Health grant says this has never been done before.  "This is a groundbreaking endeavor — uniting local churches with local farmers to promote neighborhood health while still using business principles."

About Moving Together in Faith & Health

Moving Together in Faith & Health is comprised of Mount Zion Baptist Church, First African Methodist Episcopal Church, Goodwill Missionary Baptist Church, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, New Direction Missionary Baptist Church and Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church. The project is a vehicle for initiating change within communities because local residents often seek health support, advice, and resources from faith-based institutions. The wholesale market is one of many efforts that Moving Together in Faith & Health is working on to bring healthier food choices and active lifestyle changes to their congregations and neighborhoods.  The consortium has also partnered with the Promenade Red Apple Market and the Central Co-op for more healthy food purchasing options within their communities.

Moving Together in Faith & Health is funded through The University of Washington School of Nursing. The educational institution received funding through a grant from Public Health — Seattle & King County, which was awarded federal stimulus grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's for Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW). CPPW is a broad Public Health program funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to address obesity and tobacco prevention through changes to policies and systems.

For more information about Moving Together in Faith & Health, visit: http://www.healthykingcounty.org/profile/UWSchoolofNursing?xg_source=profiles

For more information about Communities Putting Prevention to Work, visit: www.kingcounty.gov/health/cppw.

About The Puget Sound Food Network

The Puget Sound Food Network is a project of the Northwest Agriculture Business Center. NABC is a registered 501©(3) non-profit organization dedicated to farmland preservation by helping to make farming in the region more profitable.  For more information about the Puget Sound Food Network visit www.psfn.org.

SOURCE Moving Together in Faith & Health