CONGRATULATIONS TO MONIQUE MCCOY!
Monique McCoy is the Community Food Access Coordinator at Local Matters. She has championed Local Matters' development of Veggie Van as a food access and education initiative, and it would not have been possible without Monique. She has worked to identify neighborhood partners who will successfully grow in the food access world alongside Veggie Van. With her guidance, Local Matters has developed strong partnerships in Linden, the Near East Side, Franklinton, and the West Side to enhance healthy, sustainable food access in their respective neighborhoods. Monique also ensured that the initiative went beyond basic access, helping design a mobile market format that would allow for continuous cooking demonstrations and meal preparation education so that anyone who shops at Veggie Van can go home with the knowledge and skills needed to prepare the food they buy.
Monique's work and involvement in the community spans all levels of community engagement. She works to inform the community of the resources available through door-to-door and other grassroots outreach. She consults with existing partners to explore how work can become more sustainable and equitable. She is directly involved in carrying out food access and education work. She collaborates with new partners to create change in our communities. She empowers neighbors to make their own healthy food decisions. There is not a single person more personally involved in this food access and education work than Monique!
