L-R: Cara Rodriguez, Beth Gilleland, Jon Carlson, Denny Carlson, Charlie

With glorious August sun and a bald eagle circling overhead our hearty volunteers gathered another generous harvest for Pillsbury United Communities and Groveland Food Shelf. Thanks to Beth Gilleland who organized a family work party including Jon and Denny Carlson plus soon-to-be 5th grader, Charlie. We were joined by the indefatigable Cara Rodriguez as well (100% harvest attendance to date!). I was delighted to find the harvest even better than I expected and the usual hour and a half stretched a bit longer followed by gathering some produce from the garden and a bit of squash harvesting for the volunteers! A perfect morning at the farm. And then . . .

Once again it was a party at Pillsbury United Communities where Jovita and her crew enthusiastically loaded the corn into boxes and crates for distribution that very afternoon. Then off to Groveland Food Shelf where Jay and his team swiftly gathered the rest of the harvest into large barrels.

I was struck, yet again, by the scale of need and the great work these food banks do. Groveland Food Shelf serves over 5,000 individuals each month, Pillsbury United Communities has two locations and typically serves about 100 families a day and over 200 on peak days. According to the StarTribune, 2020 saw the largest use of food shelves on record and those I work with at the various food banks report that usage has not dropped off as the pandemic situation has changed.

As in years past, there are cash costs associated with this project most associated with tools, fuel, and labor by Dana Jokela and at Sogn Valley Farm. Thank you for stopping by this blog and please hop over to this GiveMN page to help us raise funds to pay Dana for his essential contributions! Thanks!

Harvest photos courtesy of Beth Gilleland – Thanks, Beth!