Manifest Love launched in March of 2020 by Round the Bend Farm (RTB). This is a collaborative endeavor with YWCA Southeastern MA, Youth Opportunities Unlimited (Y.O.U.), Sacred Birthing Village and NorthStar Learning Centers which puts healthy, local foods on the tables of families in New Bedford.
Shaun Van Laarhoven, Kitchen Director and Executive Chef with Round the Bend Farm and Board Member of Youth Opportunities Unlimited, Inc. (Y.O.U.)
The Executive Directors of each organization – Desa Van Laarhoven, Gail Fortes, Bernadette Souza, and Maria Rosario – decided that RTB would provide free weekly food shares from early March 2020 to mid December to approximately 125 local families directly connected to the New Bedford organizations.
NorthStar Learning Centers picks up the food shares every week from RTB and delivers them with love; YWCA meticulously translates accompanying educational materials into Spanish and Portuguese for accessibility; and here at Y.O.U., we provide cooking classes for children whose families receive the shares through our program.
Due to the success of the Manifest Love project, Round the Bend Farm has acquired a food truck, which will provide farm-to-family cooking demonstrations and workshops around healthy eating and food preparation for our community. We are very excited about all of the new opportunities that the food truck will bring.