Got tons of tomatoes? Gaggles of greens? With a new program offered by the High Desert Food and Farm Alliance, you no longer have to creep onto the porches of your friends and neighbors, attempting to offload all of those zucchinis in the dark of night. HDFFA's Grow & Give program invites people with extra amounts of produce to donate it to local food banks.
Local gardeners can bring their clean and fresh produce to the HDFFA booth at some of the local farmers markets. Drop off your goods at the Bend Farmers Market Wednesdays from 2-6pm, Northwest Crossing Farmers Market Saturdays from 10am-2pm or the CROP Market Booth at the CROP Farmers Market in Prineville on Saturdays from 10am-2pm. People who need help harvesting, who have more than 50 pounds of produce to donate or who live outside of Bend can get help from HDFFA by calling 541-390-3572.
Donations go to NeighborImpact, which distributes it to any one of 50+ hunger relief agencies in Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties. According to NeighborImpact, fresh, leafy greens and ripe berries were "an especially welcome treat." Read more about HDFFA's programming at hdffa.org.
And for those who may have prepared meals, produce, water or other foods they want to donate through direct action, the Bend Community Fridge accepts donations at its open fridge or "freedge," located outside the Cosmic Depot on Clay Avenue in Bend. Find out more at facebook.com/BendCommunityFridge.
