Welcome to Fall–A Time for Reaping What We Have Sown
Fall, the season of reaping what we have sown, starts today. And what we have sown, according to many economists, is an economy that is coming out of recession. But as is common in recessions, employment numbers are lagging behind in the recovery and will lag for some time. The result is that donations of all kinds are down but the need is up. Food banks are no exception. This is particularly troubling at a time of year when we should be seeing the abundance of the harvest season.
But maybe we have resource that we are not using fully. I read an article a few months ago about a local church that had a harvesting/gleaning campaign. The parishioners noticed that the some of the fruit and vegetables from their gardens often end up on the ground and went to waste. I know the times I had a garden more was produced than I could eat or even give away.
The church asked the parishioners to collect the extra fruits and vegetables from their yards, and they had a sale. The money collected as well as the produce that did not sell was given to a food bank. Perhaps some version of this could be done on a larger basis. The harvesting program could be overseen by either individual cities or organizations. Or individuals and neighborhoods could glean the extra fruits and vegetables from their yards and have it delivered to a local food bank. And maybe the harvesting program could be maintained throughout the year.
What do you think? Can we put to use what is readily available instead of letting it go to waste? Maybe we have more available to us than we realize.
It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring, who reaps a harvest in Autumn.
- B. C. Forbes
Here are some locations that accept food and cash donations as well as donations of your time and services:
Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County
8014 Marine Way
Irvine, CA 92618
Phone: 949-653-2900
Web Site: http://www.feedoc.org
Community Action Partnership of Orange County Food Bank
12640 Knott Street
Garden Grove, CA 92841
Phone: (714) 897-6670
Web Site: http://www.capoc.org/
GRAPHIC COURTESY BILL BARBER