Editor’s Note:
This is the final installment in a four-part series centered around grocery options within the City of Shelby — specifically aimed at level of access, variety and nutrition. The series also discussed ongoing efforts to attract a new grocer to the city, along with the challenges that has presented.
SHELBY — Whether or not a new grocer should open its doors in Shelby, a city health department has an important role to play in increasing access to produce and other healthy foods.
“Nutrition has a huge influence on health, so I think access to nutritional foods should be something that health departments are looking to do,” said Gillian Olsen, director of environmental health at the Shelby City Health Department.
One arm of assistance available for public health departments at the city or county level is the Creating Healthy Communities (CHC) program.
Led by the Ohio Department of Health, the program helps local health departments “implement sustainable policy, systems and environmental changes through community engagement and community-led solutions.”
The program typically runs on a five-year cycle and is renewed year-to-year, said Dr. Julie Chaya, commissioner at Richland Public Health.
She said the purpose of CHC is to ensure local communities can be a healthy place to live, work and play. The program has helped communties locally and statewide.
“Some projects that we’ve done through this particular grant have been really trying to improve upon food deserts in the area or convenience stores and farmers markets that people have access to,” Chaya said.
Because Shelby has its own health department, Richland Public Health does not directly service the city. Olsen said she hasn’t researched CHC specifically.
“It (CHC) might be something that we can look into to apply for,” Olsen said.
Food pantries
Grace Episcopal Church has operated a food pantry out of its current space in the building’s lower level along Bowman Street for nearly two decades. It regularly serves upwards of 500 families during an average week, according to the church’s website.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the church worked with Richland Public Health to increase the pantry’s strength and capabilities through the CHC program.
Daniel Orr, a reverend at Grace Episcopal, said the program equipped the pantry with two walk-in, glass-door coolers. Volunteers stock it with vegetables and occasionally meat.
Richland Public Health also provided the pantry with an electric-pallet jack to assist with operations, as well as baskets, shopping carts, shelving and signage.
These additions have allowed the pantry to expand its offerings of fresh produce and healthy foods in an area of Mansfield where access to these items is limited.
Items may vary from week to week, but the pantry supplies an abundance of fresh produce, including a variety of greens, squash, cucumbers, peppers, celery, tomatoes, potatoes, bananas, watermelon, apples, oranges, pears and limes, among other items.
“It’s the confluence of enormous streams of generosity and community, because everyone needs food,” Orr said. “It’s state, federal and local, and corporate generosity.”
While it cannot rival the variety or quantity of foods at a grocery store, food pantries are vital resources for individuals living in areas where access is low.
“A lot,” Rev. Christopher Hofer, priest-in-charge at Grace Episcopal, said of how many people may find themself in need of a food pantry. “Much more than people think.”
There are a handful of food pantries around Shelby available to residents. But similar to most, food pantries are limited in their selection of offerings and availability, Olsen said.
Below is a list of current food pantries and produce distribution opportunities the health department is aware of. (Click the arrows to see all options.)
Along with the food pantry at Grace Episcopal, Richland Public Health has worked with several local convenience stores through CHC, including KV Market, Springmill Corner Market and Food Land Minimart in Mansfield.
The department also worked with the Olivesburg General Store, which is located on the border of Richland and Ashland counties.
Chaya said similar work was done at each convenience store, supplying the locations with coolers to increase healthy food offerings, shopping baskets and signage.
“They’re all able to provide the fresh produce that they weren’t able to before,” she said.
The average amount of CHC grant funds used on a project is about $5,000, the health commissioner said.
CHC provides a stepping stone for entities to begin offering healthy food items they previously couldn’t due to equipment restrictions. But once equipment, like a cooler, is given to the entity being helped, it’s their responsibility to continue using it as intended.
Crestview Local Schools launching learning garden
For those in Shelby who have eschewed the idea of grocery shopping altogether, the city also offers a community garden located off of North Gamble Street.
Tools and water are available to residents who wish to participate. Plots can be reserved by contacting the city’s utility office.
“For a sustainable or more permanent option for people to have access to produce, I think that’s something that we’d have to look into — especially if we’re not going to get another grocery store in the area, which so far doesn’t seem very likely,” Olsen said.
A new learning garden taking shape at Crestview Local Schools through the CHC program aims to teach students the same skills.
Shannon Nelson, an administrative coordinator at Richland Public Health, said the district is being equipped with raised garden beds, plants, a storage shed and a greenhouse to allow year-round activity.
Nelson said the effort will help students learn about the importance of healthy fruits and vegetables, as well as how to tend to a garden and cook with the foods they are growing.
Harvested produce will be available to students at no cost, she said. A few vegetables planned to be planted include cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes and Swiss chard.
Crestview Superintendent Jim Grubbs said construction of the greenhouse should happen this summer. The district is also in the process of hiring a middle-school agriculture teacher, something Grubbs said may be a first for Crestview.
There may even be opportunities to incorporate the produce grown by students into the district’s food service department, he said.
An internal survey revealed about 60 percent of Crestview’s middle-school students have expressed interest in the agricultural field, the superintendent said. Grubbs explained he has a strong interest in this type of learning.
When he was in fifth grade, Grubbs was provided a garden plot in Mansfield’s Kingwood Center Gardens to grow vegetables for his family.
“It has a lot of meaning to me to really help people be self-sustainable — to be able to produce vegetables,” Grubbs said.