Baltimore school girls awarded $13K to provide fresh food to residents in food deserts.

Four remarkable eighth-grade girls from New Song Academy in Baltimore are changing the lives of those living in nearby food deserts. Aniya Ponton, Ryeona Watson, Samahj Chestnut, and Logan Reynolds began working on a community project in partnership with Philanthropy Tank last year. As a result of their hard work, they have now been awarded $13,000 to turn their dream into a reality.

They have named their project Bmore Fresh – a renovated city bus equipped with shelves, refrigerators, and a point-of-service sales system that travels to food desert areas of Baltimore. The bus will be a convenient way for locals to access fresh fruits and vegetables that they may have trouble finding in their area.

Ponton shared her thoughts on the project: “We all had a way to relate to the situation. We all had a problem with our food source.”

Philanthropy Tank has provided over $700,000 in funding for over 70 student-led projects in Palm Beach County, Florida, and Baltimore since 2015. 40% of the projects have been turned into nonprofit organizations, and Bmore Fresh hopes to do the same.

According to The Baltimore Banner, one in four Baltimore residents live in areas with sparse access to healthy, fresh produce. These areas, often called food deserts or “healthy food priority areas,” are located throughout the city, with the bulk of them in East and West Baltimore, where the majority of the Black residents live.

By bringing the market to these areas, Bmore Fresh hopes to bridge the gap between socioeconomic status and lack of nutritional food options. Moreover, they will provide residents with information about other resources that may be available to them, such as community farms that offer affordable and even free healthy produce options.

The project is set to be finalized in late July and the girls are aiming to start servicing communities before the end of summer. With their passion and dedication, it is safe to say that these four girls are about to make a huge difference in Baltimore.

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