Feed Families in Appalachian Ohio

As we step into this year's growing season, we want to thank you for your generous support throughout the winter season. Because the Donation Station primarily sources food from our local farmers, our supply drops dramatically during winter months -- decreasing to 10% our summer supply at greatest disparity. The need for food during winter months, though, remains the same (or increases)!  Supporting CFI during the colder months is so crucial to keeping our food supply consistent to serve our community. Your contributions have supported us though the winter to purchase local produce at the Athens Farmers Market, as well as directly from local farmers, to continue feeding our community when the need is greatest. Thank you!

Spring for CFI means our Annual Giveaway season, and this year's giveaways have been a huge success so far! Our Annual Seed Potato Giveaway broke our own personal records; in response to an increased need created by the pandemic, CFI distributed nearly 30,000 lbs of seed potatoes across five Southeast Ohio counties - that's 10,000 lbs more than last year!! Additionally, our Annual Seed Giveaway recently distributed hundreds of seed packets to local families in partnership with our local libraries. While picking up seeds, families were invited to partner with our Grow-A-Row program, an opportunity to grow additional produce in their garden for the Donation Station! We are so excited to have the opportunity to empower our community to grow their own food, and encourage them to share their excess harvest with their neighbors!

The Veggie Van is gearing up to hit the road this summer! After a successful pilot season in Glouster, the Van is ready to expand its reach to not one, not two, but three additional communities this year! The Van will be bringing fresh, local food to town in Nelsonville, Coolville and Amesville this summer. We are in the process of surveying these communities to learn more about what fruits, veggies, and other local food items they'd like to see at the Van, and we can't wait to share the harvest with these neighbors! 

While planning our expansion to these communities, the Veggie Van has also been hard at work making local produce more accessible to our neighbors by offering meal kits. Check out the photo below of our Chili-To-Go kits, complete with local Shagbark Tortilla Chips!

Though it would take pages and pages to share all of the different ways your contributions are being used to serve our community, I hope this update has given you a glimpse into the multitude of ways you are supporting us to Feed Families in Appalachian Ohio. Thank you.