Imagine you sign up for a class on canning fresh vegetables at your local food pantry. The instructor is engaging, the lessons are rich and educational, the other students are sharing ideas for saving money and creating healthy, kid-friendly meals. You return home inspired and eager to apply what you learned, but you don’t know how or where to start because you lack the right equipment.

Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard solved the problem with their innovative Tool Share, one of the many programs they offer to increase access to fresh, healthy foods while also fostering self-sufficiency and a sense of community. Patrons can select from a wide array of tools to help them produce nutritious food at home–from juicers and food processors to tillers and garden tools, and everything in between.

Members fill out a quick registration form and can check out two free tools per person for up to three months. Tool Share has its own website, which includes a complete inventory of all items and what’s in stock. Once registered, individuals can check the website and stop by the pantry to pick out their tools.

In addition to the food pantry and Tool Share, Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard provides nutrition education classes that teach healthy cooking on a budget, a community-led advocacy program, and a community garden where people can learn and practice sustainable agriculture. Remaining true to their mission and values, Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard also works to raise awareness about the root causes of hunger and to build grassroots power to make their community healthier and more just for everyone.

Check out this short video to learn more!

 

For more on the great work Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard has been doing, visit www.mhcfoodpantry.org

 

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