For the second straight year, Cape Abilities is teaming up with Elder Services of Cape Cod & the Islands to provide boxes of locally grown produce to homebound seniors in Barnstable County through the month of September.
A total of 289 boxes containing lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, beets, onions, eggplant, peaches, and apples, will be packaged at Cape Abilities Farm in Dennis by the nonprofit’s participants and volunteers.
When ready, the bags will be delivered by Elder Services under the direction of Nutrition Program Manager Louis Eppers.
“Especially this year with the pandemic, a lot of people we serve represent a vulnerable population,” he said. “This is a great way for them to get fresh produce safely delivered to their home, thus avoiding going out into the community and risking exposure. A lot of our consumers are homebound and can’t leave their homes.”
Tracey Fraser, Director of Cape Abilities Farm, said the partnership has served as an invaluable teaching tool for “our participants about the importance of community service and contributing to the well-being of others. The opportunity for our participants, who will work side-by-side with our volunteers preparing and distributing these boxes of produce, helps them to understand how their daily work of growing food at Cape Abilities Farm makes a positive impact on the community.”
The joint project is federally funded through the Seniors Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program which provides low-income seniors with access to locally grown fruits, vegetables, honey, and herbs. Along with Barnstable County, Elder Services will be delivering similar bags of locally grown produce to seniors on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard in partnership with farmers on both islands.
Cape Abilities Farm is a social enterprise launched in 2006 by Cape Abilities, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit,
which for over 50 years has been providing jobs, homes, transportation, social and therapeutic services for
people with disabilities across Cape Cod. The farm exists to provide employment and training for
individuals of all abilities, promote awareness of the Cape Abilities mission, and raise revenue for all
Cape Abilities programs. To learn more about Cape Abilities, visit www.capeabilities.org.
