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In Boise, The Salvation Army offers a seasonal bounty of fresh foods.
On “Fresh Fridays,” The Salvation Army Boise (Idaho) Corps campus takes on a festival atmosphere, with six tents through which community members stroll, selecting produce like zucchini, apples, berries, cantaloupe, potatoes, eggplant, bell peppers and yellow squash.
As an offshoot of the Boise Corps’ year-round food pantry, the Fresh Produce Market is open once a month, from June to September. Ryanne Gihle, The Salvation Army Boise Corps Family Services Manager, said the effort is seasonal because summer yields the best quality produce—something many people need.
“Produce is so expensive, and if you’re already on a tight budget and a fixed income, it’s probably something that you’re not going to be able to incorporate into your diet,” Gihle said. “And it’s really a necessity. If you are a diabetic or if you have other health issues, you really do need to have access to those fresh vegetables and fruit. A lot of our clients skip them and get the cheaper things. They miss those healthier options in their diets.”
Gihle said when her team noticed clients struggling to receive fresh produce, they decided to begin offering the Fresh Produce Market once a month.
The Salvation Army launched the market in May 2021 as an experiment to see if the community was interested. Gihle said since then it’s taken off and become a regular—and eagerly awaited—event. In 2021 they served about 60 households at each market; now it’s about 200.
She said this year, from June to September, they served 1,500 people.
Southern Idaho Coordinator and Boise Corps Administrator Major Premek Kramerius said The Salvation Army receives 8,500 pounds—eight pallets—of produce the day before a market. Gihle purchases the food directly from a produce company, using government funding.
Other organizations partner with The Salvation Army at the event, including Eat Smart Idaho, which provides recipes to clients incorporating fresh foods, part of a larger partnership that involves offering cooking classes at The Salvation Army campus, teaching food pantry clients how to use the items they receive.
“The Fresh Produce Market is an incredible program that gives the community direct access to fresh fruits and vegetables that might otherwise be out of reach,” said Mallory Ginis, Eat Smart Idaho Community Nutrition Advisor. “Programs like this, along with dedicated community leaders like Ryanne, are key to improving community health.”
In 2019 the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare launched a statewide assessment of Idaho’s top health priorities to determine why Idahoans get sick. The top two priorities? Diabetes and obesity.
The report revealed that in 2022, nearly 10 percent of the state population were living with diabetes, and that adults 18 and older experiencing obesity had increased to 31.6 percent in 2021.
Gihle said one client with diabetes told her she’s not always able to afford the fresh foods that help keep her blood sugar levels at a normal level.
She told Gihle: “During the summer months I know I can rely on the Fresh Produce Market at The Salvation Army to help me with that…Having access to the food bank and Fresh Produce Market has also taken a financial burden off me.”
“Produce is so expensive, and if you’re already on a tight budget and a fixed income, it’s probably something that you’re not going to be able to incorporate into your diet.”
Ryanne Gihle, The Salvation Army Boise Corps Family Services Manager
Both Kramerius and Gihle attribute the program’s growth to the growing need in the community.
When the Fresh Market began, the cost of living in Idaho was rising. A 2022 study from the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy reported an increase in food costs of 10 percent from the previous year and an increase in rent prices of 36 percent over a two-year period.
The Idaho Asset Building Network reported one in eight Idahoans as food insecure, with high rent prices causing many to cut back on groceries.
“[The growth] reflects the inflation numbers,” Kramerius said. “Boise is an expensive place to live, so this helps people be able to pay their bills and work on their health, which is often neglected in this economic situation.”
He said the Fresh Produce Market is an important ministry.
“We see a lot of clients at the Fresh Produce Market that have health issues that require a healthier diet they may not always be able to afford,” Kramerius said. “I’ve been told many times this program is a huge blessing for them and that it’s helping them to develop healthy habits.”
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