The Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank is asking area gardeners to donate surplus produce from their gardens so the food bank can supply fresh fruits and vegetables to local families. Gardeners with more than they can use from this year’s harvest can bring the extra food to the food bank instead of letting it go to waste.
Donations are accepted Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 24 E. Woodruff Ave. in Toledo. Items must be clean and fit for human consumption. The food bank said a box is the best way to bring donations, although clean containers are also accepted.
Barbara Hofstetter, the food bank’s director of operations and human resources, emphasized the nutritional value of garden donations. She said the food bank wants to be able to provide nutritional food items so families can prepare healthier meals, and fresh produce brought in by gardeners helps make that possible.
Hofstetter said small donations are welcome as well as large ones, and that every donation, big or small, matters. On small donations, she said, “It is always worth it.” Even a handful of cherry tomatoes is welcome, the food bank said, so gardeners do not need a large harvest to take part.
Because its refrigeration space is limited, the food bank said it especially appreciates produce that does not need to be refrigerated. Items named as especially helpful include onions, potatoes, squash, apples and peppers. Those items can be handled more easily within the space the food bank has available.
So far this year, the food bank has distributed more than 650,000 pounds of fresh produce. It serves eight counties across Northwest Ohio and partners with 150 member agencies, which help get food to families in communities across the region.
The Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank was founded in 1984 and is the region’s Feeding America affiliate. Gardeners who have surplus produce to share can bring clean items in a box or a clean container to the Woodruff Avenue location during the weekday donation hours listed above. Donations received there will add to the fresh fruits and vegetables the food bank supplies to local families through its work across Northwest Ohio.
Photo: Shixart1985, CC BY