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Dogwood Health Trust grants money to Saluda Pop-Up Pantry

SALUDA—Dogwood Health Trust recently awarded a grant to the Saluda Pop-Up Pantry to open up guest choice shopping again. 

The program is called the Farm to Neighbor Program. 

The Saluda Pop-Up Pantry is asking small farmers with produce to sell to them through this grant. 

“The Saluda Pop-Up Pantry is excited to launch its Farm to Neighbor Program, which brings fresh local produce from area farms to its weekly Tuesday Pantry,” said The Saluda Pop-Up Pantry’s Thayer Fleming. “Funded by the Dogwood Health Trust, the Farm to Neighbor Program purchases produce and farm products at the height of freshness and flavor to offer to over 55 local households as they select food each week at no cost to them.” 

The program includes nutritional information focusing on the benefits of eating fresh, local produce as well as recipes and menu options. 

Fleming said the Pop-Up Pantry developed the program to strengthen the health and welfare of the pantry guests, to provide a predictable market source for local farmers and to increase the sense of community interdependence between residents and the farming traditions in the area. 

Former Purple Onion owner Susan Casey oversees the Farm to Neighbor program and draws from here experience working with local farmers to develop the healthy food options for families. 

The Saluda Pop-Up Pantry is open on Tuesdays from 1-6 p.m. Only 4 households are allowed inside at a time to shop and volunteers and guests are required to wear masks. 

The Pop-Up Pantry is located at 54 Carolina Street, Saluda. 

More information about the pantry can be found at saludapantry.com. 

Local farmers interested in selling produce and farm products to the program can contact Casey at saludapantry@gmail.com.