Lynn Community Health Center Addresses Food Insecurity

LYNN — To help address food insecurity, volunteers from the Lynn Community Health Center and Commonwealth Care Alliance distributed free, fresh produce at the monthly mobile market on Buffum Street on Saturday morning.

“Food insecurity is a pervasive problem that we see with our patients and people in the community,” said Mark Josephson, director of decision support at Lynn Community Health Center (LCHC), who has been volunteering at the mobile produce market for more than a year and a half.

In Lynn, one in five residents is food insecure, according to LCHC, and 76 percent of Lynn Public School students are eligible for free or reduced lunch. Food insecurity subsequently affects people’s health. Members of food-insecure households are at higher risk of developing such chronic diseases as obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes.