Our Partnership with Priority Partners, HGTV+ the Cupboards Project

Our Partnership with Priority Partners, HGTV+ the Cupboards Project

It isn’t every day a small business like ours gets to partner with one of the leading health service systems and stars from the largest home improvement television network. So when Michele’s Granola was asked to support the Cupboards Project, a collaboration between Johns Hopkins’ Priority Partners and HGTV, I was excited to learn more about a possible synergy between the project and our Give One for Good Food® program.

The Cupboards project is an initiative to bring food and literacy resources to communities across Maryland. Like a free mini library, the Cupboards will provide non-perishable pantry items directly to communities in need. HGTV stars Matt Muenster and Chris Grundy designed and built the units and were onsite for the installation of the very first Cupboard in the Mount Winans neighborhood of south Baltimore in November. Initially, the Cupboard will be stocked with support from Priority Partners and local food rescue organizations, and it will become self-sustaining over time through a take what you need, leave what you don’t model.
Michele and HGTV's Matt Muenster

In Mount Winans, the Cupboard is the ground-breaking installation on a 3.5 acre parcel of vacant land that will become an urban garden and community center, providing neighborhood residents with a variety of vital resources including nutrition education programs. Michele’s Granola will also be supporting the Westport Community Economic & Development Corporation in this broader development project.

As a business leader in our community, one of the most important things we can do is increase visibility of inequities in our food system and support creative solutions to address them. The Cupboard itself is a symbol of community support in addressing the challenges of accessing healthy food, that also gives the community a voice in their future.

Priority Partners

Additional Cupboards are slated to be installed in areas of need around Maryland in the hopes that this becomes a nation-wide initiative. Learn more and follow along at prioritypartnerscupboards.com, and learn more about our Give One for Good Food® program here.

 Michele

Banner image credit: Priority Partners. Pictured: Chris Grundy and Matt J. Muenster at installation of the community cupboard in Harford County

Second image: Michele and HGTV's Matt Muenster

Third image: Priority Partners team members

 

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