The Goochland Gazette - Share Your Fresh Produce with the Food Pantry

News Article

By Unknown

Its summer and gardens all over Goochland are bringing forth a bounty of fresh, delicious and healthy food. A wonderful variety of fresh spinach, kale, squash, peppers, broccoli, peas, corn, green beans and lettuce as well as raspberries, cherries, peaches, and melons are showing up in farmers markets, and there's always a rush to get the best.

Backyard gardeners in Goochland, who plan all year for their gardens, sometimes plant too enthusiastically and wind up with more vegetables and fruit than they can use. When that happens, the next question is what to do with all those cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, beans, peas, okra, peaches and melons. There are always family members and neighbors, of course, but there is another alternative. Giving surplus produce to the Goochland Free Clinic and Family Services Food Pantry is a good way to use an over abundance of vegetables.

The benefits of providing fresh produce to Goochland Free Clinic and Family Services' Food Pantry are many. For the Food Pantry, the challenge is to provide clients the opportunity to enjoy fresh, nutritious home grown vegetables and fruit. For families who live in poverty, fresh, nutritious vegetables and fruit are a luxury they simply can't afford. But, by sharing healthy food that is lovingly grown in your gardens, you can ensure that our neighbors in need are better nourished. Healthier diets can mean fewer trips to the doctor and contribute to overall wellbeing that stems from eating better.

According to Ample Harvest, an estimated 100 billion pounds of food is thrown away annually in the United States. In today's tough economic times, 1 in 6 people don't have enough to eat. Here in Goochland County, senior citizens, disabled persons, children and hard-working adults who simply cannot make ends meet are forced to skip meals. The only chance they have to get food is often through non-profit organizations like the Goochland Free Clinic and Family Services. Just think what home grown fruit and vegetables would mean to them.

The Food Pantry makes every effort to provide our clients with the most nutritious food possible. We accept donations of fresh produce as well as other food items. The days and hours that Family Services accepts donations are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday and after 1 p.m. on Thursdays.

So please, as you harvest those vegetables , share your abundance with some of our less fortunate neighbors and help nourish those in need.

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