Making the Most of the LCCAA Produce Center

About the LCCAA Produce Center

Choice

In 2024 our center will become a choice pantry. You will have a variety of items to choose from each week. While our aim will be to provide you all your choice items, supply and staffing may make it necessary to make substitutions to provide you with enough items to fill an order. Substitutions will most likely be shelf stable items.

Convenience

The drive-up-stay-in-your-car approach will allow us to serve you quickly and easily. It also allows us to bring in more food items each week since every square foot of the Produce Center will be used to store produce, pack orders, and organize for appointment pickups.

Appointment Times Matter

Our program is strictly designed and staffed around appointment times. We understand being limited to a specific pickup time may not work for everyone and will work with you to refer you to another pantry if keeping an appointment does not meet your needs.

Weekly Service

Many pantries and cupboards limit the number of times you can get food monthly. Our service may be used every week if you choose. This increases the chances you will use the produce you order before it loses its freshness. It also encourages regularly making home-cooked meals for improved nutrition and health.

Stretch Your Food Budget with the LCCAA Produce Center

The Center operates out of the former LCCAA Bike Shop at 204 W. 10th Street in Lorain. We are open to anyone in Lorain County living at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level ($60,000 annually for a family of four in 2023).

Our produce center is not intended to meet all of your household’s nutritional needs.

As a pantry, we focus on helping with fresh food options to stretch your food budget and encourage better health.

Produce items are intended for eating within three to five days as recipe items for home-cooked meals, packed lunches, healthy snacks, and as a way to make your food more delicious. Additional shelf-stable items such as rice and beans will round out your meals.

Our center has coolers and offers refrigerated items. We do not offer frozen food items. We focus on fresh and canned produce. Our intention is to bring in more and more fresh items as we grow the center.

Placing Your Order

The LCCAA Produce Center uses Feeding America’s online order system, Order Ahead. You can find the link to the system on our website: www.lccaa.net/programs/produce_center.

1. You must enter the ZIP Code 44052 in order to find our Produce Center on the ordering system’s welcome page.

2. You will choose your appointment time first, then make selections from our inventory.

3. When you click “Checkout” you will have an opportunity to review your order and all the details. You will need to confirm your order to complete it.

4. You will immediately receive confirmation using the contact method you chose during your registration. Registration only happens with your first order.

5. You will receive additional notifications 24 hours and 2 hours before your scheduled pick-up time. It is important to be on time.

6. You will not be asked and are not required to pay.

How Your First Order is Different

1. The first time you order, you will need to create a free account using an email address and password.

2. You will have a choice of email, text, phone or a combination of all three for receiving reminders about your orders.

You will be asked some questions about your food situation and your household. Not all questions will be asked every time you place an order.

Tips and Tricks for Healthier Meals

Meal Planning

We recommend planning your shopping around your Produce Center order items each week. Because some items may be substituted, it is suggested you pick up your order before meal planning for the week. The items in your order items can stretch meals and add nutritional value.

A well-stocked freezer is an excellent way to add flavor and interest to almost any meal and your produce items won’t go to waste. Prep and freeze in bags labeled with name and date packaged. You can also freeze broths and sauces in easyto-use portions to take some of the cost out of making your homecooked meals.

Many fruits and vegetables lend themselves to smoothies. An overripe banana sweetens, green leafy vegetables add vitamins and minerals, and berries make almost any smoothie flat-out delicious. You can use a traditional stand blender or a hand-held immersion blender.

Using Your Freezer

Using Your Blender or Smoothie Maker

Getting Food Assistance in Lorain County

As much as LCCAA wants you to know you can reach out to us for help, we care most about making sure you get the programs and services that are right for you. For hunger and food insecurity we suggest a three-step approach:

1. Apply for federal and state programs. In Lorain County, that means contacting Lorain County Job and Family Services. They will let you know your eligibility for assistance such as SNAP, farmer’s market programs, and cash assistance. Visit www.lcdjfs.com.

2. For women, infants and children, the WIC program provides food assistance based on financial and nutritional need. Applications for WIC are done through Lorain County Public Health. For more information visit loraincountyhealth.com.

3. Find pantries by visiting Second Harvest’s website at secondharvestfoodbank.org and clicking on “Find Food”. Alternatively, use Lorain County’s 2-1-1 Help Line, a service of United Way of Greater Lorain County. You can visit 211lorain.org, call 2-1-1, or call toll free at (800) 275-6106. This service is available 24/7/365.

One program or service will likely not be enough, but finding the right mix of assistance can make a difference.

Senior Nutrition

Senior Food Box Program

This program, funded by Second Harvest Food Bank, provides a oncea-month box of nutritious, shelf-stable items to eligible Lorain County residents. Contact Second Harvest Food Bank for more information or to apply. 440-960-2265

www.secondharvestfoodbank.org

Hot Meals for Homebound Seniors

Operated by Neighborhood Alliance, Hot Meals for Homebound Seniors brings dietitian-approved meals to the door of eligible seniors. The program also offers daily wellness checks. Contact Neighborhood Alliance for more information or to apply. 440-233-8768

www.myneighborhoodalliance.org

Senior Farmer Market Nutrition Program

This program provides older adults with vouchers redeemable for fresh locally grown produce and herbs at area farmers markets and roadside stands. Participants receive ten $5 coupons valid through October. Contact the Lorain County Office on Aging for more information on how to participate.440-326-4800

www.lcooa.org

Ideas for When Shopping Choices are Limited

Getting to a grocery store is more difficult in some neighborhoods or for some households. For urban households like those closest to the LCCAA Produce Center on West 10th Street in Lorain, it is not uncommon to purchase food items at one of the local dollar store chains.

Here are items frequently worth purchasing at dollar stores:

Baking Mixes - Baking mixes for biscuits, cookies, cakes and other items are great to stock away.

Beans – Canned and dried beans are a versatile pantry staple to add to recipes or make as side dishes.

Bread Crumbs - Bread crumbs are a great ingredient for meatloaf dinners or to coat chicken before tossing it in the oven.

Canned Fruit - Check out options such as pineapple, peaches or fruit cocktail to pack your pantry for snacks, desserts and sauces.

Canned Soup - Grab soups that you can use in other recipes and stock up on things like cans of chicken broth or cream of mushroom soup.

Canned Vegetables – Green beans, corn, pumpkin, tomatoes (crushed, diced, sauced), carrots, beets and asparagus are still generally flavorful when canned.

Cereal - Most dollar stores also carry several types of hot and cold cereals.

Chip Snack Packs – Good for lunches as a treat.

Coffee – Save by making coffee at home. You can often find quality brand name coffee grounds at dollar stores.

Condiments - Ketchup, mustard, pickle relish and more.

Crackers – Crumbled crackers make good casserole toppers and can be a substitute for bread crumbs in a pinch. They are also good to add to packed lunches with some cheese, fruit or a protein.

Frozen Fruits and Vegetables – If your dollar store carries frozen foods, fresh frozen fruits and vegetables offer better nutritional value than canned. They also keep longer making them very convenient for cooking and baking.

Pasta - Pasta is an easy-to-make dinner item. Grab some and toss it into boiling water on a busy night when the family is hungry. Make casseroles. You can also make pasta salad for a packed lunch.

Ramen noodles - Ramen noodles are great in soup, casseroles, as a side dish, or in a hearty stir-fry with chicken and vegetables.

Rice – Rice comes cooked to heat in the microwave or uncooked to make yourself. It is an ingredient in many recipes and readily takes on the flavors of herbs and spices.

Spices - The most used spices in the kitchen are basil, crushed red pepper flakes, cumin, garlic powder, ginger, nutmeg, oregano and pepper. Spice blends like taco seasoning, Italian seasoning and fajita seasonings come in handy, too. Dollar Store Tip: Consider using dollar store phone apps for coupons and weekly deals.

Food Forward Lorain

Food Forward Lorain is a partnership of community organizations working together on policies, systems and environmental changes to make healthy food available for everyone who lives in the City of Lorain. The lead agencies are Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio, the City of Lorain and the Lorain Public Health District.

Purpose

To build upon existing community momentum, sustain efforts and encourage new partnerships to increase access to healthy food, and improve community well-being.

Meeting Need

For community members to access quality, nutritious food is fundamental to a healthy life. The City of Lorain is the largest city in Lorain County with a high poverty level. Residents face multiple barriers to health because of social and economic factors.

Focus Areas

Economic Development: Inspiring economic development through urban farm and retail expansion.

Food Is Medicine: Strengthening healthcare partnerships through Food Is Medicine programming.

Connecting People to Food: Connecting people to food through technology and transportation networks.

Special Acknowledgements

LCCAA thanks the City of Lorain for a 2023 grant of $17,000 for the launch of the LCCAA Produce Center.

LCCAA’s Produce Center opened way ahead of schedule thanks to the support of Second Harvest. Thank you, Second Harvest for your expertise, guidance, and grant of $2,500 to help fill our shelves.

Our warehouse garden’s raised beds and hydroponic system were made possible by a Healthy Places grant from Lorain Public Health. The warehouse garden is a work in progress with great growing planned for 2024.

Getting to the Produce Center

The Center operates out of the former LCCAA Bike Shop at 204 W. 10th St. in Lorain.

Please approach the Produce Center using Reid Avenue and West 10th Street rather than cutting through the LCCAA parking lot at 936 Broadway Ave.

Please follow all signs and staff instructions.