There was a time when struggling families depended heavily upon what they could grow in their own backyard, season by season: leafy winter greens, sweet spring peas, plump summer tomatoes, colorful fall gourds.  And some might agree that they were better off for it, having access to nutrient rich foods.  But today, costly fresh fruits and vegetables are seldom on the menu for most low-income families.  So when a group of Bulloch County farmers grew tired of plowing under perfectly good produce that wasn’t “attractive” enough for the supermarket, they reached out to United Way of the Coastal Empire in Effingham County, and sown were the seeds of The Farmer’s Garden.

The idea was simple.  Instead of disposing of produce because of blemishes, find a way to put it into the hands of hungry families; and that is exactly what The Farmer’s Garden has been doing since the spring of 2009.  Once a month or more, participating farmers bring fresh fruits and vegetables to The Robert H. Demere, Jr.  United Way Effingham Service Center (ESC) where it is bagged and separated by volunteers for distribution at local food pantries.  In February 2010 alone, local pantries served roughly 2,300 individuals in the area, with help from programs like The Farmer’s Garden.  But more than just answering the growl of any empty stomach, The Farmer’s Garden provides essential nutrients to a population often starved of far more than simple calories.  Fresh produce is some of the most expensive food in the supermarket today; add to that the lure of cheap fast-food to hungry families short on both time and money, and you have a recipe for poor health - a reality that is at the core of The Farmer’s Garden program. “This produce is seasonal and provides a quality source of nutrition,” says Archie Jenkins, the program’s coordinator and Advisory Board member to United Way, Effingham County.

Once seen as primarily a need of older and disabled citizens, Effingham County food pantries are now serving more young people.  “We’re seeing folks in their twenties and thirties who had construction jobs or manufacturing-type jobs who have suffered layoffs, and so now it’s very broad,” says Bonnie Dixon, Area Director of United Way, Effingham County.  The program has been so well-received that plans are in development to expand by turning a donated ocean shipping container into a large refrigeration unit.  “The Farmer’s Garden has really been great for us…we get very little produce, this fresh produce is very helpful,” says Ernie Fortson of God’s Mission House Food Pantry. 

And as with all good things, it is the collaborative spirit of the community that is making it possible. “Georgia Power helped bring electricity to the container unit; TEMCOR will insulate the unit and we’ll be calling on other community partners to get a cooling system installed; and we’ve even had some community volunteers do landscaping around the container to spruce it up and make it look better,” says Dixon. 

And for farmers Gwen Clary and Gabby Baptista of Old South Produce Farm, the program means that all of their hard work is about more than just earning a paycheck, now it’s also about doing the right thing,  “it’s wonderful just to know that we’re helping people…it means a whole lot when you’re out there in the field.”

The Robert H. Demere, Jr. United Way Effingham Service Center provides an array of programs and services to residents of Effingham, West Chatham and North Bryan Counties. For more information, please call 912.826.5300.