Written by FALPC Intern, Kristina Kalolo Pictures by FALPC Intern, Katie Irwin
Isabella Burgess and Lauren Wetherbee, from the Worcester Kindergarten Initiative, recently wrote a great post about their field trip to the Community Harvest Project (CHP). Inspired by their visit, Katie and I made our way to the farm for a look around. We were given a tour by Kristin Bafaro, the Executive Director at CHP, who explained their farming and harvesting process and how integral volunteers are to their operations.
Consisting of three locations, Brigham Hill Community Farm, White’s Farm, and Cheney Orchards, Kristin explained that Community Harvest Project is a non-profit organization that provides fresh, nutritious fruits and vegetables to Worcester County Food Bank. Last year alone, CHP harvested over 250,000 lbs of produce that helped feed 99,535 people that utilize hunger relief services in Worcester County. This amounts to 11% of the residents in Worcester County! Through the tireless efforts of the staff and 9,200 hard-working volunteers, CHP engages in environmentally sensitive practices that bring diversified and healthy produce to hundreds of soup kitchens and food pantries in the area.
The next day, when we were at a Hunger Study visit for a local food pantry, we did indeed see a large pile of zucchini from CHP, in addition to the typical pantry staples (pasta, cereal, canned goods, ect.) and bread. Most people were very excited to see fresh vegetables, but the majority was also unfamiliar and unsure of what do with the zucchini. Quite a few people thought they were cucumbers (an easy mistake to make).
In the journey these vegetables take to improve the food security and nutrition in Worcester, the hard work of places such as CHP and the Worcester County Food Bank, have done an amazing job at increasing access and availability of fresh, healthy foods. It seems as though the next step is insuring that people know how to use them when they take these foods back to their homes. I realized not only how important it is for the food pantry clients to have these foods, but also to know how to prepare them for themselves and their families.
In order to promote greater knowledge of how to “use” these foods, Kristin suggested that food pantries include labels (in both English and Spanish) and provide recipe cards with the produce. I thought information and resources on local cooking classes, such as Cooking Matters events taught through the Regional Environmental Council (REC) might be helpful as well. I would love to hear your ideas, please comment on this post with your thoughts and suggestions!
Lastly, CHP is supported by donations and volunteers. If you would like to get your hands dirty in the fight against hunger in your community, find out more about ways to get involved in CHP here. To see pictures of CHP and our visit, check out FALPC’s Pinterest!
