Fresh Access. Providing Healthy Produce for People in Need.

Fresh Access is the largest service program of the Friends of Holcomb Farm, providing healthy food, free-of-charge, to more than 500 households per week during our growing season (June through October). Our customers include food-insecure families throughout the region, people facing a health crisis, people living on a fixed income, and others who have trouble accessing healthy food. The program is funded through grants from charitable foundations, including the Granby Community Fund, First Congregational Church and the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, members of the Friends of Holcomb Farm, and the support of people like you. Our local partners -- Granby Senior Center, Waste Not Want Not Community Kitchen, and Healing Meals Community Project -- receive their food at no cost. Our larger institutional partners, such as Wheeler Health and the Hispanic Health Council, contribute a portion of the cost of their produce.
Growing Fresh Access to Meet Increased Need

Our commitment to providing food to people in need is growing, as depicted in this chart. We are so grateful to our donors for making it possible for us to keep up with the increasing need. Please note that the dollars invested reflect our wholesale cost. To measure our impact in terms of its retail value (at typical grocery store prices) they would cost, on average, about 40 percent more. In other words, for each $1.00 donated to Fresh Access, we grow and deliver healthy food valued at $1.40 (retail) to a family in need.

Students from the University of Saint Joseph conducted interviews at Holcomb Farm in 2022. See the video they created, which does a great job of explaining our Fresh Access program.