Imagine every time you buy a nutritious, frozen meal at a grocery store, that same meal is made more affordable to someone in need.

That’s the idea behind Good Bowls, a new public health initiative lead by nutrition professor at UNC Alice Ammerman: a healthy, locally sourced, frozen meal that is offered at a sliding scale.

Consumers willing to pay a few dollars more for the listed price at one location make Good Bowls more affordable for those with less means.

“Because healthy, locally sourced food is appealing to both high-income and low-income consumers, we’re making the same product and selling it for a higher price at stores where people who have more means may be shopping,” says Ammerman.

Ammerman calls these “socially conscious consumers with means,” and they are what make the business model behind Good Bowls work.

Paying a little extra for a Good Bowl means that lower-income shoppers can afford healthy, nutritious produce without cutting into local farmers’ profits.

Ammerman is working with groups like Farmer Foodshare and Hungry Harvest to make sure that this model is sustainable for the local farming community as well.

“We’re lucky that there are those organizations that are making that a lot easier than trying to reach out to individual farmers and organize that,” says Ammerman.

While Good Bowls are already available at premium grocery stores like Weaver Street Market and the Durham Food Co-op, along with corner stores across Durham and Warren County, the group is hoping to work with more commercial kitchens across the state to create a wider reach.

And since it is a frozen product, Good Bowls are eligible for purchase with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which Ammerman says was “very intentional.”

“A lot of my work has involved some of the federal food programs like [Women, Infants, and Children] and SNAP, so I knew that we wanted to make it eligible for that,” says Ammerman.

More information is available at the Good Bowls Facebook page.

Related Stories
‹
RFK Jr. Ousts Entire CDC Vaccine Advisory Committee
On Monday, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed every member of a scientific advisory committee on how to use vaccines.
North Carolina GOP Lawmakers Agree to Add a Health Exemption to a Bill That Limits Masking
Republican lawmakers in North Carolina struck a compromise on a bill that now maintains a health exemption for masking in public while preventing the use of masks during criminal activity.
Policy, Language and Tech: UNC's Angel Hsu Discusses Combating Climate Change
Angel Hsu is an associate professor in UNC’s environmental ecology program. She recently spoke with 97.9 The Hill about her work as the director of a data-driven envirolab and how technology can teach us more about combating climate change on a local government level. Check out highlights of the conversation below, which are lightly edited […]
As NC Waits for Medicaid Expansion, Federal Provision Could Leave Some in Coverage Gap
North Carolina lawmakers came to an agreement to expand the state’s Medicaid services. But a recent change may leave some in a healthcare gap.
UNC Names Next Dean of Gillings School of Global Public Health
UNC leadership announced Dr. Nancy Messonnier as the next dean of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health on Wednesday.
UNC Researchers Tackling Gun Violence as 'A Public Health Issue'
Gun violence kills more than 40,000 Americans a year. Can it help to approach the issue from a public-health perspective?
UNC Clarifies Mask Enforcement, Updates Sanitation Measures and Library Services
UNC officials provided the campus community further updates this week as it prepare for the start of a fall semester now less than one month away. On its Carolina Together website detailing campus operations amid the COVID-19 pandemic, UNC recently revealed official university guidelines on physical distancing and the use of face coverings. As described […]
UNC Not Requiring COVID-19 Testing Upon Students' Return, Citing 'False Sense of Security'
As UNC prepares for students, faculty and staff to return in August for a fall semester, it is revealing more details on how it will operate amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first weekly update on the implementation of the Carolina Roadmap for Fall 2020, Provost Bob Blouin shared details on how the campus community […]
Focus Carolina: Alice Ammerman
Tune in to Focus Carolina during morning, noon and evening drive times and on the weekends to hear stories from faculty members at UNC and find out what ignites their passion for their work. Focus Carolina is an exclusive program on 97.9 The Hill WCHL, sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Working with […]
One Week: Exploring Our 'Hometowns'
Exploring our ‘hometowns’ is an activity that has been continually present in my life thus far. As a 16-year-old, I have accumulated a sense of the culture of our hometown communities as well as what they have to offer; to enumerate: where to grab a bite to eat, fun activities, places to shop and must-see […]
›