With $100,000 in funding from UnitedHealthcare and support from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars, and many other community partners and stake holders the Farm at Penny Lane will be unveiling a new mobile food unit.
The mobile food unit will increase nutritious foods to North Carolinians impacted by housing insecurity, homelessness and chronic health conditions in rural and urban counties (Chatham, Orange, Durham & Wake). Access to nutritious food and health are inextricably linked. Individuals with limited or no access to transportation or a place to prepare meals presents additional health challenges.
This exciting program will launch in late spring.
The UNC Farm at Penny Lane, located on 40 acres in northern Chatham County, uses a holistic and sustainable approach to enhance the quality of life of individuals with severe and persistent mental illness by offering opportunities to become healthier and more self-sufficient. Therapeutic actives take place at the Farm, which consists of a large growing area, heritage-breed chickens, beehives, a learning kitchen and a walking trail. We use organize practices to grow our crops; community volunteers, clients with serious mental illness and staff cultivate the garden.