Share extra harvest with less fortunate

Harvest time is upon us, and once again, I’m driving around the area seeing a lot of wasted food that someone could eat. Is your back yard home to a fruit tree that is loaded with apples, pears, or plums? How about your garden? Did you plant too much and can’t eat it all? Please take a little time to harvest that food and take it to the nearest food bank. If you belong to a church or volunteer organization, maybe you could get a group of people together to help neighbors or friends who are unable to pick the produce in their yards.

Food is a basic need, and there are many who must sacrifice good nutrition in order to pay the rent or other expenses. The food banks try to fill this need by receiving produce from stores and other sources, but nothing is as nutritious as fresh local produce.

Allowing produce to go to waste benefits nobody and can cause quite a mess as it deteriorates. Taking the time to harvest and deliver this food to the food banks helps both the donor and the recipient. The donor gets a tax deduction for the donation and the good feeling of having helped others. The recipients get wholesome food to eat. Everyone is a winner in this transaction.

ANN WARWICK

Sandpoint