Food Bank For Westchester Hosts Harvest Festival

MOUNT VERNON, NY - From Food Bank For Westchester: Food Bank for Westchester recently hosted a Harvest Celebration that brought together its food growing community from sites throughout the county. These sites include the host site for this event, Leak & Watts, where teenagers help to grow produce, as well representatives from some of its other partners: White Plains Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Westchester Land Trust, Westchester County Department of Corrections and the Mt. Vernon Garden Collaborative. These sites work closely with Farmer Douglass DeCandia, Food Bank for Westchester’s Food Growing Project Coordinator, to ensure the gardens can be as successful as possible so that produce can go to the 200,000 county residents who are hungry or food insecure. Food Bank for Westchester’s Food Growing Program brings in over 12,000 pounds and 55,000 servings of produce each year. For the past six years of partnerships, Leake & Watts has grown more than 15,000 pounds of produce per year that is used onsite and to feed the hungry community in Westchester.

For more information about the Food Bank for Westchester, visit www.foodbankforwestchester.org

About Food Bank for Westchester

For over 29 years, Food Bank for Westchester has led the fight against hunger in Westchester County, serving 300 frontline programs that provide food directly to the 200,000 county residents who are hungry or food insecure. Food Bank for Westchester supplies 95 percent of all food distributed annually across the region’s food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and daycare and residential programs – delivering over 8.4 million pounds of food and 7.5 million meals to people. Food Bank for Westchester’s collaboration with major retailers and corporations, and its expertise in food procurement, storage, and distribution, turns every monetary donation into fresh food provided for our community.

Photo courtesy of Food Bank for Westchester