SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — An organization that provides Medicaid coverage to families is giving back through resources and fresh fruits and vegetables in honor of a company milestone.
Highmark Health Options will host its first Farm-to-Family fresh produce market and community resource fair marking its one-year anniversary serving West Virginia families.
The event will get underway from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at Heart and Hand Outreach Ministries in South Charleston, or until all produce runs out.
Medicaid Program Director at Highmark, Katie Lightner said it’s about meeting program recipients and the public where they are.
“It’s going to be a really exciting time and a great way for folks to come out and connect with the resources they have available within the community,” Lightner said.
Lightner said the free event is a first-come-first-serve basis but they will have enough produce available to serve up to about 500 families.
She said Highmark has not only partnered with Heart and Hand to host this event, but Mountaineer Food Bank and Facing Hunger as well. In addition, Lightner said they will have various other organizations on hand such as West Virginia American Water to provide information and resources.
Lightner said they chose to host this event to give back to the community in celebration of their one year of services, but also to raise awareness of the fact that 1 in 6 West Virginians are faced with hunger, and that means friends and neighbors.
“It’s important for them to realize and folks who are going through this to know that there are resources out here to help them,” she said. “West Virginians, we have a way about helping each other, especially when it comes to food, so outside of just Highmark Health Option members, we want the community to know where they can turn to for help.”
Lightner said Highmark Health Option’s health plan has focused on addressing food insecurity across the Mountain State as well as addressing workforce barriers and building an expansive social care network.
She said since the program’s first year in West Virginia, membership has grown from under 1,000 members to more than 13,000. 
Lightner said that a lot of West Virginians rely on Medicaid and they are happy they can serve a major role in providing that affordable healthcare coverage.
“To be able to now serve a population that truly needs our assistance, that’s what we’re really proud of,” Lightner said. “As of this month, we have around 13-thousand members, so to continue to become a part of the community throughout this phase, that’s something we really take pride in.”
Highmark itself has been operating in West Virginia since 1999, initially affiliated with Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield.