Mobile Meals of Toledo and Cultivate Toledo launched a program to serve fresh produce to local homebound seniors. The collaborative effort delivers neighborhood-grown food directly to hundreds of daily meal recipients across Toledo.
Fresh crops grown miles from the facility go into hundreds of meals daily, Mobile Meals reported. The food starts on an urban farm in the Vistula neighborhood.
Andrew Newby serves as the executive director of Cultivate Toledo.
“We’re creating this truly full-circle food system right here in Toledo, being able to produce and consume right here, all in the same neighborhoods,” said Newby.
Cultivate Toledo manages multiple urban farms. The group meets the large distribution quantities that Mobile Meals requires. The program started last week with a 220-pound shipment of organic tomatoes.
Head Chef Linda Paetz works for Mobile Meals of Toledo. She said she used the delivered tomatoes six different ways. Paetz noticed a distinct difference in product quality and price.
Paetz said Mobile Meals saved 25 cents per pound compared to normal distributor pricing. She noted the delivery process moved much faster.
“They harvested that day and brought them to us, or the day before, so literally less than a three-day turnaround and they were in people’s houses,” Paetz said. “Sometimes when you’re ordering from a mass-produced distributor, those tomatoes could be out there for a month or two months before they’re actually getting to you.”
Newby said Cultivate Toledo operates greenhouses to grow crops year-round. This setup removes seasonal uncertainty common with commercial suppliers.
“You just don’t know what your fruits are going to look like, you don’t know what your lettuces are going to look like,” Paetz said. “Tomatoes start getting to the end of the season and they start getting smaller or yellower.”
Cultivate Toledo operates agricultural sites inside the city to support local food access. Mobile Meals prepares and distributes cooked daily nutrition directly to homebound residents.
Newby said his team plans upcoming harvests directly with kitchen staff. They will coordinate future crops for Toledo meal recipients.
