Healthy food for stronger communities: Trillium Produce Plus

Trillium Produce Plus celebrates 8 years of bringing fresh produce to families

When Food for Lane County created Produce Plus more than a decade ago, our goal was simple. Make fresh fruits and vegetables easier for neighbors to access. Eight years ago, a partnership with Trillium Community Health Plan helped that vision grow, bringing more healthy food directly into neighborhoods, health clinics and rural communities across Lane County.

Today, Trillium Produce Plus reaches thousands of neighbors each year with free, high-quality produce at places they already visit for care and support. Last year alone, the program distributed more than 430,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables. Since 2018, Trillium has invested more than $950,000 to help expand the program and reach more families.

“Everyone deserves access to healthy food, but fresh fruits and vegetables are often the hardest items for families to afford,” said Carolyn Stein, Executive Director of Food for Lane County. “The Trillium Produce Plus program helps remove that barrier by making fresh produce more accessible while giving people the dignity of choosing the foods that best meet their needs.”

The partnership is built on a shared understanding that fresh food is essential to good health.

“We know that nutritious foods can help prevent diseases and improve health conditions, and it’s a way that people can stay healthy,” says Dominique Lopez-Stickney of Trillium Community Health Plan. “Food is medicine.”

Meeting people where they’re at

That value is especially important in rural communities, where transportation and distance often make grocery shopping more difficult.

“For folks who live in more rural locations, it can be difficult to get to healthy foods” said Lopez-Stickney. “So it’s important for us to be able to bring those healthy foods to a trusted partner in the community.”

Orchid Health’s Fern Ridge clinic in Elmira was one of the first Trillium Produce Plus locations. There, Community Health Worker Jadzia Engle regularly hears from her rural patients about the difference fresh produce makes.

“Bringing the food to them is the biggest game changer because you’re meeting the community where they’re at,” she says. Instead of spending limited dollars on gas to travel into town, families can use those resources for other essential needs while still bringing home nutritious food.

At Ko-Kwel Wellness Center, where weekly distributions serve both tribal members and the broader community, healthy food is part of a larger commitment to caring for the whole person.

“People don’t come in parts,” says Behavioral Health Executive Director Carly Blemmel (Choctaw). “When we talk about physical health, mental health and food security, all of that is health. So this program helps us treat the whole person.”

More than a meal

The impact reaches beyond nutrition. At Unitarian Universalist Church, volunteers have watched neighbors build friendships while picking up at Trillium Produce Plus.

“People keep coming back, and they’re making friends there. They’re making a community,” says Berry Broadbent. “It’s so exciting when we get those strawberries and blueberries and raspberries in, people are just struggling to have enough. And we can provide some extra.”

As grocery costs remain high and many families face uncertainty about public benefits, access to healthy food has never been more important. Partnerships like Trillium Produce Plus — and the generosity of Food for Lane County donors — help ensure that neighbors can put fresh, nutritious food on the table while strengthening the health and resilience of our entire community.

Together, we’re proving that when we invest in healthy food, we invest in healthier neighbors, stronger communities and a better future for Lane County.

“By working together, we’re reaching more people, expanding access to healthy food, and building a stronger, healthier Lane County,” Stein said. “We’re grateful for Trillium’s partnership and their commitment to improving the health of our community.”