Community Spotlight: Community Action Market & Produce
Guest Blog by Paul Kwan, Community Action Market & Produce (C.A.M.P.)
Community Action Market & Produce (C.A.M.P.) is a nonprofit organization rescuing fresh nutritious produce by addressing the most basic need of accessibility and in turn improving the quality of an individual or family by helping to supplement meals in Arizona communities at an affordable cost while reducing food waste. Our rescued fruits and veggies are donated due to rejection from size, shape, color or market pricing. Our staff within our organization are volunteers and do not receive a salary.
Three programs are offered from our organization partnering with nonprofit organizations and community groups providing a more complete outreach to supporters.
Prepacked produce boxes ready to be distributed
C.A.M.P. (Community Action Market & Produce), our flagship program is hosted at 16 partnered agency site communities in Gila, Maricopa and Pinal counties in Arizona offering a farmers’ market like environment called Shop & Select (you pick) in person shopping and PrePacks2Go a prepackaged produce box (we prepack for you) solutions on Saturday mornings. With a $15 donation, any supporter with NO income or residential qualifications required can shop or receive a produce box. A produce box is always offered to someone who cannot afford to donate. Every $15 donation is used for programmatic and transportation expenses so more C.A.M.P. market locations can be hosted.
Helping Hands, our second program, offers approved small to medium size nonprofit organizations with small to limited fresh produce budgets up to 10 cases of each variety of produce free of charge at the end of the market.
B.R.E.A.D. (Bridging to the Elderly and Disabled) our third program, delivers fresh produce to elderly and disabled recipients using local case management near a vicinity of our markets.
Volunteer Group (Paul, Sheri, Rob, Debbie, Merrill)
We would like to thank Shepherd of the Desert Lutheran Church in Sun City (SDLC), one of our 16 partnered agency sites, who helps to distribute to Arizona communities. It has been instrumental for C.A.M.P. to partner with SDLC as our conduit to provide delicious and nutritious produce for the Northwest Phoenix Valley area. Their insight, experience and fortitude has been a principal reason why we are so successful distributing produce boxes at several locations in the Northwest Valley weekly such as United States Postal Service in El Mirage and Surprise Senior Center in Surprise. Additionally, we would like to thank Robert and Sheri Thirkell, who are members of SDLC and loyal volunteers who help weekly so individuals and families can be serviced.