July 6, 2022 |Health & Wellness, Lynn Community Health Center, News, Resources

Lynn Community Health Center to Celebrate 5 Years of Mobile Market

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July 9^th will mark the 5-year anniversary of Lynn Community Health Center’s (LCHC) Mobile Market, a food distribution operation in partnership with the Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB), that provides on average 9-12,000 pounds of food to 450 households the first Saturday of every month. 

The Mobile Market takes place year-round outside, regardless of the weather, in the parking lot of the Deborah Smith Walsh Recuperative Care Center on Buffum Street in Lynn and is staffed mainly by a range of LCHC employees on a volunteer basis, as well as LCHC Board Members and some community volunteers. Four lead LCHC employees have played a major role in organizing the Mobile Market from its inception: Iris Padilla, Lorie Martinez, Lilia Bermudez, and Leidy Pimentel. 

LCHC’s Mobile Market partners with Commonwealth Care Alliance (CCA) which provides 450 insulated food bags that the volunteers fill with food provided by GBFB each month. GBFB’s partnership with LCHC was intentional, and one of several partnerships with health centers to ensure access to healthy food for health center patients and community members who need it most.

Over the course of the last five years, the Mobile Market has served an average of 1,109 individuals per month, equaling 420,283 meals distributed.

“Mobile Market is an opportunity for the LCHC family to give back to the community and make a difference to those around us,” said Lilia Bermudez, LCHC Care Coordinator and a Mobile Market Lead.  “I get great joy when I see the happy faces of those receiving bags of fresh fruits and vegetables. Being able to assist 400 plus people a month makes me feel so accomplished. I am a mother of three and I couldn’t imagine having my kids or anyone in my family go without food to eat. It has been a pleasure to be a part of this for five years, and I look forward to continuing to support our community.”

“The Lynn Community Health Center continues to be a beacon of hope on the North Shore, providing healthcare and for the last 5 years a much-needed mobile market to support the nutrition needs of the community,” said Jonathan Tetrault, Vice President of Community Impact at The Greater Boston Food Bank. “Now more than ever we need great community partners like LCHC to help the growing number of families and individuals experiencing a lack of food access due to the enduring impact of the pandemic and the worst inflation we have seen in over 40 years.”

“Food security is directly tied to health and well-being, and at CCA we believe in a holistic approach to healthcare,” said Mark Waggoner, CCA General Manager for Massachusetts. “Volunteering alongside LCHC and the Greater Boston Food Bank for the past five years has been an opportunity to bring fresh, healthy produce to food-insecure households that are at higher risk of developing chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Mobile Market to distribute food to families throughout Lynn and beyond.”

Mobile Market volunteers are proud that they were able to serve patrons when they needed it most during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, only having to miss one month of distribution to ensure their process was adjusted to protect the health and safety of workers and visitors.

GBFB’s second annual report on food access in Massachusetts entitled “Opportunities to Improve Food Equity & Access in Massachusetts”, reveals rising rates of food insecurity in the state with as many as 1 in 3 adults having experienced food insecurity in 2021. Due to the highest inflation rates we have seen in over 40 years in 2022, food access will continue to be a challenge for many households making free food distributions like the LCHC Mobile Market even more important now.

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All are invited to visit or cover the Mobile Market’s 5th Anniversary on Saturday, July 9th between 8:00 am – 10:00 am at 73 Buffum St., Lynn, MA

For more info on the Mobile Market, and upcoming dates, please click here.

The above press release was submitted to us by the Lynn Community Health Center (LCHC)