Frequently Asked Questions

  • The Howard County’s Roving Radish promotes healthy eating habits through meal kits comprised of locally and regionally grown foods straight from the farm to your table. The meal kits are available to anyone who works, plays or lives in Howard County and are offered at a discounted price to those in need.

  • As long as you live, work or play in Howard County, you are eligible to participate. There are no income limitations.

  • Ordering is done on our website and is as simple as ordering any product online. First, you select the week you would like to order. Once you have selected your week, choose Meat, Veggie, or both Meal Kits, the quantity, and Regular or Subsidized price. Select your pickup location and add to your shopping cart. Once you have finished shopping, click on the shopping cart icon and proceed to check out. At checkout, you will make payment in full by credit card. First time customers will be asked to create an account. EBT Customers please place your order online by completing the online checkout process.The MARKETPLACE location is the only pickup site that accepts payment at pickup. If you choose the other pickup sites, we will contact you by the email and/or phone number listed in your account to collect payment prior to your pickup. Payment must be made in full the week prior to your pickup if you choose a site other than the Marketplace. Failure to do so will result in your order being cancelled.

  • When ordering your meal kit we accept credit card payment (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover) online at check out. All orders must be paid in full at the time of ordering. EBT Customers please place your order online by completing the online checkout process. The MARKETPLACE location is the only pickup site that accepts payment at pickup. If you choose the other pickup sites, we will contact you by the email and/or phone number listed in your account to collect payment prior to your pickup. Payment must be made in full the week prior to your pickup if you choose a site other than the Marketplace. Failure to do so will result in your order being cancelled.

  • Each meal kit will cost $40 or $20 if you qualify for our subsidized price.

  • If you or anyone living in your household has participated in one of more of the programs listed below in the past 12 months, you can purchase a meal kit for $18. The mission of the Roving Radish is to make fresh and affordable meal kits available to the community.

    Here is the list of eligible programs.

    · Food Stamps/ Food Supplement Program (FSP) or SNAP

    · Women, Infants and Children (WIC)

    · Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA)

    · Medical Assistance – Medicaid or Maryland Children’s Health Program (MCHP)

    · School breakfast or lunch program

    · Social Security Disability Income (SSDI). This is not the same program as Social Security Income.

    When you go to order online, you will be able to check a box to indicate that you are eligible for a subsidized meal kit. EBT Customers please place your order online by completing the online checkout process.The MARKETPLACE location is the only pickup site that accepts payment at pickup. If you choose the other pickup sites, we will contact you by the email and/or phone number listed in your account to collect payment prior to your pickup. Payment must be made in full the week prior to your pickup if you choose a site other than the Marketplace. Failure to do so will result in your order being cancelled.

  • No, this is done on the honor system. Currently we do not have the resources to verify everyone’s paper work that qualify for the subsidized kits. However, we reserve the right to ask for verification from any customer at any time.

  • If you miss your meal kit pickup, your kit will be returned to the Roving Radish Kitchen located in the Long Reach Village Center. Reminders are sent to the email listed in your account on the day you have a pickup and you will receive an email reminder of your missed pickup the following day by 9am. If your kit is not picked up by 3:00pm on Saturday of the week you missed pickup, your kit will be donated to food outreach.

    The pickup options available for missed pickups are:

    Tuesday 1:00pm - 7:00pm Roving Radish Marketplace at Long Reach Village Center - 8775 Cloudleap Ct. Suite 2, Columbia, MD 21045

    Thursday 1:00pm - 7:00pm Roving Radish Marketplace at Long Reach Village Center - 8775 Cloudleap Ct. Suite 2, Columbia, MD 21045

    Saturday 9:00am - 3:00pm Roving Radish Marketplace at Long Reach Village Center - 8775 Cloudleap Ct. Suite 2, Columbia, MD 21045

  • The food will be refrigerated until you pick up. The meat proteins will be frozen. The ingredients will be provided to you in a shopping bag, just as you would pick it up from the grocery store. It is your responsibility to ensure that your meal kit returns to a refrigerated environment within a reasonable amount of time.

  • Each meal kit provides all of the ingredients and instructions for two meals, for a family of four. The kit includes meat or other protein, vegetables and/or fruit, as well as products like pasta or rice. Most items will come already cut and chopped, so they are ready to cook. The ingredients are listed on the meal kits ingredients tab on the ordering page of the website.

  • Occasionally, it is possible that you might need to purchase an ingredient (i.e. 1 egg, milk) but we do our best to include everything. A list of items you will need to have to prepare meals is listed on the ingredients tab on the ordering page of website.

  • Whenever possible we include products from local farms. We have listed the local farms that participate in our program on our website. There are times we cannot buy products locally. When that occurs we buy from regional farms or other responsible vendors. We will always be transparent with our customers and tell you where we purchased our products.

  • No, although some products will be organic we cannot guarantee that all will be. We do however purchase from farms and vendors that are responsible and stand behind their products.

  • At this time we are not able to accommodate special dietary requests.

  • Each meal will be:

    - No more than 750 calories

    - Less than 30% of calories from fat

    - No more than 1050 mg of sodium

  • The Roving Radish is run by Howard County Government, in partnership with the Horizon Foundation, Howard County General Hospital and many other businesses and organizations in our community. Support from the community is always welcomed, and helps us reach more people. We list our supporters on the sponsor’s page of our website.