GREENVILLE – The North Carolina Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (NCAFCC) is teaming up with East Carolina University (ECU) and Food Lion Feeds in June to help low-income uninsured and underinsured residents in Eastern North Carolina eat their way to better health.

Two events, June 8 in Grantsboro and June 18 in Goldsboro will feature giveaways of fresh produce and Food Lion gift cards along with healthy cooking demonstrations utilizing a new mobile teaching kitchen funded by Food Lion Feeds for use by ECU’s Farm2Clinic program. Both events are open to the public.

The ECU program works with seven NCAFCC member clinics in the region, providing produce donated by local farms as part of a food-as-medicine initiative. This initiative aims to improve patients’ health by increasing their access to fresh fruits and vegetables and showing them how to incorporate healthy ingredients into their meals.

“Poor nutrition is a major contributor to the health issues faced by our uninsured and underinsured neighbors in Eastern North Carolina,” said Lauren Sastre, an assistant professor in ECU’s Department of Nutrition Science and founder and director of the Farm2Clinic program. “Together with Food Lion Feeds and North Carolina’s free and charitable clinics, we are making a difference by providing the improved food access, food literacy and culinary education that are keys to longer-term healthy eating and lives.”

The events will also offer a chance for uninsured residents of Beaufort, Craven, Pamlico and Wayne counties to enroll in a local free and charitable clinic. The clinics provide no-cost/low-cost health care to adults without health insurance and income below 300% of the federal poverty level (FPL).

“An estimated 700,000 North Carolina adults remain uninsured today and struggle to afford even basic health care,” said April Cook, CEO of the North Carolina Association of Free and Charitable Clinics. “We hope events like these help more people find a medical home where they can get the care they need.”

The Farm2Clinic program will visit Goldsboro on June 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, located at 200 N. James St.

Food Lion Feeds, the hunger-relief platform founded in 2014 to address food insecurity in the towns and cities Food Lion serves, donated $150,000 toward the purchase of the Farm2Clinic program’s mobile teaching kitchen. Designed to increase access to healthy food and support nutrition education, the mobile unit will make its debut at the June 8 event. The foundation will also distribute $25 Food Lion gift cards at both events.

“By supporting our community partners, we ensure our neighbors and families receive the nourishment they deserve and set them up for success in life,” said Kevin Durkee, manager, of Food Lion Feeds, Food Lion. “The mobile teaching kitchen helps our neighbors learn about nutritional value and gain cooking skills to prepare healthy meals.”

ECU’s Farm2Clinic program involves 60-75 students from across eight colleges at ECU providing education and one-on-one nutrition care and gleaning produce from local farms.

Fresh produce for the program is donated by the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina and by Eastern North Carolina farms through a partnership with the Society of St. Andrew, an anti-hunger group.