KeyBank Foundation invests $450,000 to help combat food insecurity in East Buffalo

A $450,000 investment from the KeyBank Foundation will help two organizations fighting food insecurity in East Buffalo. The investment was announced at the opening of the third season of the KeyBank Delavan-Grider Farmers Market, held each Thursday from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Delavan-Grider Community Center located at 877 East Delavan Avenue in Buffalo.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines food insecurity as the lack of consistent access to enough food to lead an active, healthy life. KeyBank Foundation funding will go to two organizations with a proven track record of increasing access to healthy, fresh, nutritious food in East Buffalo:

• $300,000 to Buffalo Go Green: This investment from KeyBank will support Buffalo Go Green’s holistic wellness and agricultural education campus. This includes Buffalo Go Green’s Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program (FVRx), which provides fresh produce to low-income individuals and families throughout the year. He will also help provide nutrition education and cooking classes at Buffalo Go Green’s new, soon-to-open commercial kitchen located at Manhattan and East Amherst streets. Classes will be live-streamed and hosted on Buffalo Go Green’s YouTube and social media channels for viewing after the live events. Buffalo Go Green provides fresh produce to the KeyBank Delavan-Grider Farmers Market and this funding will support efforts to support the market and make food affordable for customers.
• $150,000 to the Independent Health Foundation’s Healthy Options at Home (HOaH) program: This is a comprehensive nutrition education program offered free of charge to families living in underserved communities. Originally launched in 2020 to address increased food insecurity needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, HOaH is now offered year-round and has impacted more than 1,500 families since its launch.

Each programming cycle lasts four weeks, during which families receive a kitchen kit containing essential cooking utensils (e.g. mixing bowls, child-safe knives, cutting boards, etc.), a meal kit weekly magazine complete with fresh produce and other nutritious ingredients, plus access to corresponding recipe videos led by local chefs – all at no cost to participants. Funds will be used for program components including meal kit ingredients, kitchen kit supplies, delivery costs, printing of educational materials, and video demonstrations produced by local chefs. With the support of the KeyBank Foundation, HOaH will continue to make progress in addressing the food insecurity issues that have affected many families in Western New York, by connecting community members with nutritious foods as well as the educational support needed to maintain healthy eating and cooking habits.

“As we begin another season of the KeyBank Delavan-Grider Farmers Market, we are excited to deepen our investment in East Buffalo by providing funding to these organizations working to make fresh, healthy food more accessible and bringing more activity and excitement to the Delavan-Grider Farmers Market. Community Grider,” said Michael McMahon, president of KeyBank Buffalo Market. “Buffalo Go Green and the Independent Health Foundation do important work that transforms lives and strengthens communities. Their work symbolizes what community and collaboration is all about.

“We are grateful for this investment from KeyBank and their leadership and support of the Delavan-Grider Farmers Market,” said Allison DeHonney, CEO of Buffalo Go Green. “This partnership brings transformative resources and change to this community. We are excited to work with KeyBank to bring resources that improve lives and health and make a difference in our community.

“Our mission is to meet people where they are, providing the resources they need to create and maintain healthy lifestyles,” said Carrie Meyer, executive director of the Independent Health Foundation. “Our participants told us time and time again that the Healthy Options at Home program helps families feel more confident about cooking healthy meals on a budget. They learn new skills together while trying recipes that are tasty, healthy, and inexpensive to prepare, paving the way for family dinners that nourish the body and nurture relationships. Last year, we were able to provide the ingredients and education needed to prepare over 8,000 meals through this program. We are extremely grateful to the KeyBank Foundation for this grant, which will allow us to provide healthy at-home options to more families in our community.

Since 2017, KeyBank has invested more than $1 billion in Buffalo and Western New York, supporting affordable housing and community development projects; small business and housing loans to low-to-moderate income individuals and communities, as well as transformative philanthropy.

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KeyCorp’s roots date back 190 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation’s largest banking financial services companies, with assets of approximately $176.2 billion as of March 31, 2021. Key provides deposit, lending, cash and investment management to individuals and businesses in 15 countries. United States under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,100 branches and more than 1,400 ATMs. Key also offers a wide range of sophisticated financing and investment banking products, such as advice on mergers and acquisitions, public and private debt and equity securities, syndications and derivatives at middle market companies in select industries across the United States, under the trading name KeyBanc Capital Markets. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is a member of the FDIC.

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