Local group working to provide produce, meals to community throughout the year

▶️ Listen to this article now.

A local group of at-home gardeners is working to make sure all their neighbors have enough to eat.

7B Crop Swap, which is nearing completion of its approval as a nonprofit, was started by Tia Hawks in 2018 after she switched from growing vegetables in the Sandpoint Community Garden to her home.

Hawks, who had previously donated to the Bonner Community Food Bank, said they were unable to take produce from her own private garden at the time. So instead of letting it go to waste, she started her own page on Facebook, @7BCropSwap.

Now nearly 500 followers, the group serves the Sandpoint, Bonners Ferry and greater North Idaho community, she said. It’s a place where locals can find homes for an over-abundance of produce including corn, tomatoes, apples, plums, jalapenos, and many more, as well as the occasional homemade goods such as soap or candles.

The group also provides food for any community member who asks for it, even if they aren’t able to grow food to share. Last year, Hawks said, they managed to feed roughly 993 people.

During the growing season, Hawks and her two sons, Camden and Hendrick, build around five baskets to drop off with community members 一 though sometimes it’s a few more than that. Often they go to families, seniors who are no longer able to garden, or a husband and wife new to the area.

“My children love giving to the community, they look forward to Thursdays when we make boxes and pass out produce around to our neighbors and then again on Mondays to the community,” she said. “If the boys and I can't grow it then we supplement the baskets with quality produce from Diana Bynum at Sam's Produce in Sagle, during the months that produce is still growing and not quite ready to harvest. We really couldn't do it without her. She makes it happen.”

Her sons have been helping her since they were 4 and 5 years old, and are now 7 and 8 as of next month, she said, and the group has been rewarding, helping to build a close-knit community that looks out for each other.

The group also organizes roughly five meals for families on Thanksgiving and Christmas, Hawks said, and provides donated pumpkins for Halloween and baskets with candy for Easter.

Last year, BCE Accounting & Tax made a donation that paid for all five turkeys, she said.

“It was such an amazing surprise,” Hawks said. “They helped us so much.”

“It’s totally donations, and would be cool [to] have more people know about it. Because last year, I think we spent like, 10 grand,” she said. “So I mean, if we had more involvement, it would be easier. We really do work hard, and we really want to feed the community.”

Christine Curless, a member of the group who’s also organized privately to provide Thanksgiving and Christmas meals to local families, said it’s important to keep reaching out to people who might need some extra help.

In addition to donating produce, she keeps a refrigerator outside her home in Kootenai stocked with water and snacks for neighborhood children, with permission from their parents, which she restocks four to five times a day.

“There’s a pathway worn in my yard [from the children visiting],” she said. “Summertime we all kind of forget that families still need some help.”

7Bee Crop Swap can be found at 7bcropswap.com or on their Facebook page, and Hawks can be reached at 7bcropswap@gmail.com. Curless can also be reached at chriscoopersmom@gmail.com.