By Katy Phillips
Farmer Foodshare volunteers are gearing up for another wonderful year – leading Donation Stations, engaging and educating customers about farmers and local hunger, and visiting and picking up food from farms and delivering it to our recipients. We are even beginning to share meals with our farmers, market community, and recipient organizations.
In early February, lead volunteers from the Triangle area gathered at a retreat to think about the core factors that give life to Farmer Foodshare.
Each volunteer shared stories about when they felt proudest to be affiliated with the work of the organization: Farmers they’ve come to know; or a group of children from a local organization who came to purchase food for the program; customers who donate every single week; and even customers who linger around the Donation Station just because they love it and can’t get enough. Every story brought about laughter, tears, and an unexpected amount of joy and inspiration.
I think we all realized that as we continue to do the work of changing lives, supporting farmers and feeding families, our very own lives are changed in the process.
Some of our Farmers Markets are extending knowledge and opportunity even further into the community. At the Greensboro Curb Market, Donation Station interns Fran Kearfott, Rebecca Gregory and Gabby Roman are seeking new and better beneficiary relationships, recruiting and training volunteers and completing a creative project for the program. We are SO grateful for this kind of support, which helps garner enthusiasm and helps us invest more deeply into our local market communities.
Volunteers are the hands and feet of Farmer Foodshare. They carry our mission out into the community in a variety of different ways and we would not be able to do what we do without their service.
So a big THANK YOU to all of our Farmer Foodshare volunteers. We are so grateful for each of you! Let’s make this a year to remember.
Interested in becoming a volunteer? Learn more here.