This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
On Sunday, October 29, Longmont Food Rescue held their monthly Produce in the Park event at Collyer Park, located at 619 Collyer St. The tent was located on the west side of the park.
Produce in the Park is an event designed to help people, who find themselves in a food-insecure situation, pick up food for free. "There is extra food in town. We want to get that food out to people. There are no questions asked and no forms to fill out. Take as much as you can use," stated Kelly Mahoney, Executive Director of Longmont Food Rescue.
The food from Sunday's event was donated by Whole Foods, Boulder County Farmers Market, Aspen Moon Farm LLC, Honeyacre Enterprises LTD, Rocky Mountain Fresh, Izzio Artisan Bakery, and Tim Quinn of Bonavida Growers. There was cereal, cookies, bread, squash and pumpkins, fresh produce and additional freshly picked produce on it's way from Bonavida Growers.
The Longmont Food Rescue had a several volunteers from Girl Scout Troop #70658. Last week the members of Longmont Food Rescue attended one of the Girl Scout meetings and explained what food rescuing is about. The girls decided that it was a good way to help their community while earning their community badges.
"Stores throw stuff away for a bad reason, just one things is bad so they throw it all away. Food Rescue rescues it and gives it away," says Lottie Moulton, Girl Scout. Her friend Annabel Banford continued with, "People who can't afford food can have food. They can eat so they have what they need. Lots of people can't have food and when people can have food they can be happy."
The family-friendly event began at noon and lasted until 2 p.m. Within 30 minutes of having things set up, several families had already begun showing up. "This is an incredible idea because the food is just thrown out, an incredible waste. It's wonderful that people get to eat the food and it helps us out too," said Darlene Blake, a consumer, when asked about her thoughts on the program.
If you would like to help the Longmont Food Rescue there are several ways for you to do that:
- Volunteer: You can email [email protected] and sign up to volunteer. The staff at Longmont Food Rescue provide you with all the training needed to help them serve the community. They could also use the help of someone who does grant writing.
- Donate: Visit http://longmontfoodrescue.org/welcome_to_lfr/donate/ to make a monetary donation. In addition to a monetary donation, you can email [email protected] to find out other donations that the Longmont Food Rescue might need. A few suggested ideas were a bike trailer, food, marketing materials and in-kind donations.
Collyer Park has been the most receptive venue for Produce in the Park, so the Longmont Food Rescue plans to continue using it for this program. Produce in the Park is scheduled to happen once a month. The next Produce in the Park event will be November 19, from Noon-2 p.m. in Collyer Park. As of now the Longmont Food Rescue does not have any plans for Thanksgiving Day, they hope that the generous donations made for the November 19 event will go a long way in helping those in need have a joyous holiday.
