Planting Where it Matters
Fresh produce is one of the most expensive and perishable items for food shelves to purchase, but it is also vital for preventing chronic diseases and living a healthy lifestyle. This “food gap” is created when families-in-need who could benefit the most from access to produce, are denied due to financial difficulty.
The Minnesota Project has been working to alleviate the affects of this food gap, and took direct action last Saturday, September 27, when a generous group of volunteers and leaders installed twenty-five apple trees on the property of the The Food Group (formerly the Emergency Food Network) which is a full service a food bank that supplies nourishment to over one-hundred hunger relief partners in the area.
The apple trees (five trees each of five varieties; Zestar!, Chestnut, Fireside, Red McIntosh, and Keepsake) once ready for harvest will supply the food bank with fresh, local, and high-quality produce. This will aid the food bank in conserving funds to purchase other essential items, and provide their visitors with much appreciated delicious and healthy fruit.
Last May, The Minnesota Project also installed a ‘micro-farm’ on the same property to supply the food bank with various sustainably raised vegetables and herbs during the entire growing season, and have already successfully donated thousands of pounds of produce.
Did you know that you can donate fresh produce from your garden to local food shelves? Read our Toolkit for more information, especially if you are interested in establishing a donation system between your community garden and local food shelf. http://gardengleaning.org/resources/garden-gleaning-project-toolkit/
If you are interesting in volunteering for any of The Minnesota Project’s programs, visit http://fruitsofthecity.volunteerhub.com/events/indexhub to sign up!
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