Close your eyes and use your imagination with me…

Imagine you’re Tanya. A mother of four raising your children by yourself on an income around $21,000 per year. You have four mouths to feed on this salary, but when you walk outside your door, your options for healthy choices are few and far between: carry-out, fast food or a grocery store that’s either too far away, or doesn’t cater to your needs.

Grease coats the inch-thick glass at the carryout window where wings and fried rice are cheaper than a bunch of bananas. The smell of salty French fries wafts past, so its either enough fries for the family or half a bag of pota- toes that only feed a few.

Or you travel to a grocery store – with poor quality produce and half-stocked shelves – on public transit and you have to not only afford travel for yourself, but all of your children. No one is there to babysit and you have to haul food for the family on a bus or train, or worse, pay an exorbitant cab fare.

You can close the gap for people like Tanya when you support Dreaming Out Loud

We founded our farmers market and holistic health experience called Aya Community Markets to help people like Tanya. At our market we provide twice as many fresh fruits and vegetables for people receiving government assistance through our “double your dollars program.”

Our markets serve as gateways to community resources that low-income families need to get healthy and stay healthy. Our holistic approach includes experiential education, outreach and empowerment via chef demonstra- tions and nutritional programs. Local medical schools even help us to conduct screenings for diabetes, glaucoma, blood pressure and body mass index.

With your donation, Dreaming Out Loud can continue to make a difference through Aya Community Markets by engaging youth, positively impacting community health and by bringing greater access to fresh fruits and veg- etables to people like Tanya. Together we can turn lives and communities around.

Donate Now to help a community’s dreams emerge!