The farm fields are snuggled up for a long winter’s nap, but the Willing Hands warehouse is still full of food! How could that be?
At Willing Hands we believe in the power of providing a consistent, year-round supply of healthy food to our neighbors experiencing food insecurity. In order to meaningfully improve health, nutritious food must be available all year, not just during the harvest season. After all, everyone needs to eat every day.
The first source of food that we distribute in winter is produce gleaned by volunteers in the late fall. Apples, potatoes, and carrots can keep remarkably well if stored properly. We deliver these locally-grown beauties as long into the winter as possible. The apple supply was so abundant in the fall of 2020 that we were able to deliver fresh apples until April of 2021!
Next up are our grocery, wholesale and retail partners. Willing Hands drivers pick up healthy food six days a week from four Co-Op Food Stores locations, sometimes multiple times per day. We also pick up food at Upper Valley Produce three to four times a week. This food never reaches the warehouse–it stays on the refrigerated truck and is immediately delivered to our recipient organizations within a day or two. Our drivers work hard to cull the past-due produce as they go.
Once a week, we pick up roughly 3,000 pounds of food from UNFI, an organic wholesaler based in southern New Hampshire. This produce comes from all over the country, so we’re lucky to receive some crops that don’t grow in the Upper Valley like citrus, pineapples, kiwis, and even papayas. Our warehouse crew–Scott, Brian, and several volunteers–separate the edible produce from the compost and then load up the delivery trucks with tons of healthy food for distribution to our food shelf partners. The compost heads out back to our compost pile, which is patiently decomposing and preparing lots of nutrients to be spread on our gardens next season.
The last major source of healthy food during the winter months is our retail partners. Every two weeks, we pick up three to four pallets of eggs–that’s more than 2,000 dozen!–from Pete & Gerry’s. Eggs are a great source of protein, and very popular with our recipient sites. Lastly, we pick up bread seven days a week–yes, seven!–from King Arthur Baking Company.
Thank you to all of our dedicated food donors for helping us make healthy food accessible to our neighbors all winter long!
Kiwis from UNFI Eggs from Pete & Gerry’s Mixed produce, sorted by volunteers Produce from fall gleans Bread from King Arthur Baking Company Unloading eggs Carrots galore!
