GREENSBORO, N.C. — Since the Coronavirus Pandemic began in 2020, the number of families helped by the 'Out of the Garden Project' has increased. As time continued to move forward, the demand remained the same over the last two years.
However, during that same period, monetary and fresh food donations decreased significantly due to the strain the economy has put on regular everyday people. So now, Out of the Garden is struggling to find fresh produce, meats, and bread for those they serve, and they've taken a new approach, hoping to get local farmers involved in their mission.
Today we spoke with 'Out of the Garden Project' Executive Director, Don Milholin, about what needs to be done to help make sure our community is served properly.
"During the pandemic of 2020, we received 6.5-million pounds of food donated that year. This year, we hope it will be between 1 and 2 million pounds, but it's drastically down, while the number of people we're serving is still high."
Although monetary donations are always welcomed at 'Out of the Garden Project' the need for fresh produce and meat is even higher.
"We have a good 40 percent drop off in the number of donations from a year ago. We've started reaching out to farmers, if you're a farmer that does-vegetables... It is an unfortunate situation, but we've already had to buy more food this year than we did all of last year."
Whether you're a farmer with thousands of acres or just a recreational gardener who has a bit of extra produce that isn't being used, Don and his team are there with open arms.
If you want to reach the 'Out of the Garden Project' all of their contact information can be found here.