Roving Radish, County Team Up To Fight Food Insecurity Among HCPSS Families

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Students and their families will have the opportunity to receive fresh local fruit, vegetables, meat and meal kits thanks to a partnership between the county's Roving Radish program and the school district.

The goal of the new initiative is to help reduce food insecurity by connecting children and families with locally-sourced produce and ready-to-cook meals.

"Students cannot be expected to learn if they are hungry, so it is imperative that our students’ bodies and brains receive the healthy nutrients, vitamins and sustenance they need not just to survive, but be able to thrive," said HCPSS Superintendent Bill Barnes. "Our schools and classrooms are active spaces where students are moving, thinking and participating throughout the day. To sustain this engagement, they must ingest healthy foods and be properly hydrated."

The eight community schools selected to be a part of the project are:

• Cradlerock Elementary
• Deep Run Elementary
• Ducketts Lane Elementary
• Guilford Elementary
• Homewood Center
• Lake Elkhorn Middle
• Laurel Woods Elementary
• Stevens Forest Elementary

The program’s Roving Radish meal kits feature two recipes and all of the ingredients necessary to make two meals for a family of four. The Roving Radish Marketplace at the Long Reach Village Center offers fresh, local produce, meats and other goods from Howard County farms at affordable prices. In fiscal year 2024, the Marketplace distributed 28,000 pounds of food for free to those in need.

The Roving Radish Mobile Marketplace food truck brings affordable, local farm-fresh food directly to Howard County neighborhoods with the greatest need. Since it launched in June 2024, the Mobile Marketplace has served more than 200 families and given away 6,400 pounds in free produce to residents in need.

Since its launch, Roving Radish has prepared more than 75,270 meal kits, 38 percent of which were subsidized for qualifying customers, and served nearly 600 families at its marketplace, 63 percent of which were subsidized. With 25 participating local area farms, Roving Radish has also invested more than $800,000 back into local farms.