Food Share Program Sets Record

The Rapid City Food Share Program set a record on September 2. On that day 683 pounds of fresh wholesome local fruits and vegetables were loaded into my car destined for needy people in the area. This is a far cry from the 2.5 pounds of spinach we purchased June 4, the first day of the Black Hills Farmers Market.

Food Share is a program created this year by Barb, Tonya, and Shirley of the Dakota Local Food Network. The purpose is to buy at half price unsold perishable produce at the end of the BHFM sale days. Farmers do not want to take this food home and throw it on the compost pile. They raised it as food for people and they want it eaten and enjoyed by people, even though the cows and the chickens would like it, too.

While Food Share offers to pay farmers for the produce, many local growers donate food to the program. Weekdays FS delivers the produce to the Food Bank, Church Response, and to individuals who cook and serve food to needy people in the park. On Saturdays very ripe melons and tomatoes that won’t last till Monday are delivered to the Cornerstone Mission. Or, if I need my car on Sunday, everything goes to the Mission on Saturday.

Fresh local produce is welcome at all the agencies we serve. One volunteer at the Food Pantry, a division of the Food Bank, compared the dried-out days-old sweet corn from Wal-Mart with the just-picked-today tomatoes we brought in from the farmers market and said, “These tomatoes don’t even know they’ve been picked—they’re that fresh.” Pantry clients are invited to take all the fresh fruits and vegetables they will eat and often what is donated in the morning is gone by the end of the day.

Food Share receives funds from several sources. Democracy in Action, a local grassroots women’s action group, and the Ninth District Medical Alliance provided the major share of the funding this year. In addition, there have been multiple individual donors, including those who drop loose change in the jar at the information booth at BHFM.

To date 4665 pounds of produce have been donated to agencies and individuals and $1705.37 has gone to local farmers. Every donated cent goes to buy food. Volunteers do the fundraising, purchasing, record keeping, storage, and transportation.

As we left the Food Pantry yesterday Leigh the manager said with a sigh, “I don’t know what we’re going to do at the end of the summer…”