Carrboro Farmer’s Market feeds the food banks

Here’s an update on an earlier post about the ingenuity of a “newcomer” and the generosity of customers and farmers at the famous Carrboro Farmer’s Market:

The Carrboro Farmers’ Market has now collected more than 14,000 pounds (7 tons!) of fresh produce for hunger organizations in Orange, Durham, Chatham and Wake counties.

It all began when Margaret Gifford overheard a local farmer at the market say that he would have to compost the tomatoes that didn’t get sold that day. Gifford, who had recently moved to the area from San Francisco with her family, wondered why the unsold food couldn’t be gleaned for local food banks. Soon she began taking boxes to the twice weekly market asking farmers to donate their unsold produce for local soup kitchens and food pantries.

The farmers thought that was a great idea, and it grew. UNC students began helping to collect and distribute the surplus food. Then the Farmers’ Market asked customers to get involved. Shoppers were encouraged to buy an extra bag of produce to be donated to the food banks.

The Market’s Sarah Blacklin says the farmer’s market community has demonstrated that, with the right level of commitment and innovation, “We can not only feed our community, but we can also support our farmers and grow a healthier local food system.”

Blacklin promises that Farmer FoodShare, in partnership with local groups like the Inter-Faith Council for Social Services’ FoodFirst initiative, the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and many others will continue to look for ways to address the challenge of local hunger systematically in 2010.

Learn more from an earlier report by Valarie Schwartz, “The market with a soul” in the Carrboro Citizen and an update posted on the Eating in Raleigh blog.