FOOD FOR OTHERS: HOW (MUCH) DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

Summer is the season at Food for Others when donations are down. What we received around the holidays has to be budgeted through the summer until the holidays come again. It is not unlike the farming cycle, with its planting, cultivating, and harvest.

But the summer is a great opportunity for home gardeners to donate some of their harvests to our food supply. And home gardeners have the best food to offer, with their lovingly tended fruits and vegetables. If you are like my neighbors, you invariably find yourself with more home-grown produce than you can eat yourselves or even give away to your non-gardening friends. So, as we do each year, we at Food for Others urge you to donate your extra bounty to us for distribution to needy families in Fairfax County.

Fruits and vegetables are especially needed by low-income families because many low-income neighborhoods have no stores that sell fresh produce. The so-called “food desert” phenomenon is very real for these families. As a result, they shop at nearby “convenience” stores that carry only processed foods that offer plenty of sugar, salt, and fat, but little in the way of real nourishment.

If you are a gardener, you can help. Food for Others offers you a channel to these families. With our walk-in fridge and daily food distributions, we can get your produce into the homes of our client families while it is still fresh, offering them a welcome change from their convenience-store fare. In terms of nutrition, you can’t make a better gift. Home gardeners with extra fruits and vegetables are vital partners to Food for Others in our effort to supply needy families with food that is of high quality.

You can bring your donations of backyard produce to us any day, Monday through Friday, any time from 9:30-5:00, at our warehouse, 2938 Prosperity Avenue in Fairfax, which is just opposite the truck entrance to the Merrifield Post Office.

For all information about donating or volunteering for Food for Others, call Nikki Clifford at 703-207-9173, or you may go to foodforothers.org.