Abundance FoodRx sets regular farmers market at Allendale County Hospital
Fresh food will be sold at Allendale County Hospital twice a month, giving Fairfax families a handicap-accessible market from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on first and third Saturdays.
Allendale County residents who need a closer place to buy fresh food can stop at Abundance FoodRx’s farmers market outside Allendale County Hospital in Fairfax, where vendors are set up under the green market umbrellas from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every first and third Saturday. The site at 1787 Allendale-Fairfax Highway is listed by the South Carolina Department of Social Services as an approved Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program location, and the state listing says it is handicap accessible.
The next market dates are Saturday, June 6, and Saturday, June 20. That predictable rhythm matters in Fairfax, where the hospital is one of the county’s most important institutions and already provides inpatient, outpatient and emergency care. Allendale County government describes the hospital as a small hospital making a big difference and says it is committed to improving the health and well-being of the community.
The market also lands in a county where access to groceries has become a daily problem. USDA food-access data show Allendale County has very high low-food-access prevalence, and a county profile based on USDA figures says both of the county’s two census tracts are low-access, covering about 6,200 residents out of roughly 8,000. Fairfax has no remaining grocery store, after years of decline shut down local options and left a public-health impact in its wake.
Abundance FoodRx says the Fairfax market is year-round and tied to the hospital’s Community-engaged Lifestyle Medicine program in partnership with The Good Fruit Foundation. The food-as-medicine effort also shows up inside the hospital, with healthy choices to-go in the cafeteria and produce available through the outpatient pharmacy.
The hospital market is part of a wider local network. South Carolina DSS also lists an Abundance FoodRx market at the Allendale County Library in Allendale, set for June 18, July 2 and 23, and August 6 and 27 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Together, the hospital stop and the library site turn food access into something families can plan around, not just something they hope to catch by chance.
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