Pleasantville Farmers Market Hillside Food Donation Day Set

From Pleasantville Farmers Market: Event Date: Saturday, June 17, 2017

Location: Memorial Plaza, Pleasantville, NY

Hours: 8:30am – 1:00pm

More Information: http://pleasantvillefarmersmarket.org/

On June 17 Buy an Extra Item of Produce

This Saturday, shoppers visiting the Pleasantville Farmers Market can help Hillside Food Outreach ease food insecurity in our county by purchasing extra items of produce and allocating those items to go to Hillside. Farmers (and bakers too) will have collection bins at their checkout stations and items can also be donated at a tent staffed by volunteers of The Pleasantville Community Garden and Hillside Food Outreach.

Winning Partnerships to Address Food Insecurity

“This is truly a situation where complementary efforts have come together – we’re each other’s missing pieces” says Peter Rogovin, President and Chairman of Foodchester, Inc.. “The Garden has volunteers and contacts with food pantries. Hillside Food Outreach provides a system to deliver food to those in need, but need sources for nutritious foods. The Market has generous vendors with fresh food and seeks to support community organizations. The teamwork that has developed between our organizations has connected everyone’s strengths to a shared mission, and that is the very definition of partnership.”

Volunteers Joining Forces

Like the Market, both of these organizations have succeeded due to the significant efforts of volunteers. Representatives from both The Pleasantville Community Garden and Hillside Food Outreach will be on hand to answer questions about their respective programs (including Kathy Purdy, the Executive Director and Founder of this Pleasantville-based charity which provides meals for thousands of Westchester residents each year). Visitors can learn about numerous types of volunteer opportunities that connect with the mission of reducing hunger. “As Mayor of Pleasantville, I am so pleased to see this partnership between the Pleasantville Farmers Market, The Pleasantville Community Garden and Hillside Food Outreach,” says Peter Scherer, Mayor of the Village of Pleasantville. “Our village is full of neighbors who are looking out for one another and extending a helping hand when needed, and it doesn’t surprise me that volunteers from these non-profit organizations are working hard to ensure that all members of our community have access to fresh food.”

Impressive Donation Totals

Held twice a year to highlight an opportunity for shoppers to contribute, the donations totals collected can be inspiring. At last spring's Hillside Donation Day 621.5 pounds of fresh food was collected! Of that, 274 pounds were purchased and donated by Market customers, and 347.5 pounds were contributed by vendors at the end of the Market. The food was immediately donated to Hillside Food Outreach and other local pantries.

And as an ongoing effort, every week volunteers from The Pleasantville Garden collect generous donations from the Market’s farmers, with 3,000 pounds of fresh produce and fruit collected to date this year. “Donation by shoppers this Saturday help us celebrate the weekly generosity of our farmers and food artisans, who have really partnered with us in this cause,” says Steven Bates, Executive Director of Market Operations for the Pleasantville Farmers Market.

Working Together To Resolve Hunger In Westchester

The Pleasantville Community Garden is the brainchild of 16 year old Devin Juros, who researched the issue of food insecurity in the region and learned that 20% of Westchester residents did not have enough food on a weekly basis. Devin’s concern about this local issue led to the development of a 600 square foot garden on the grounds of St. Johns Episcopal Church, created with a mission to grow fresh vegetables for those in need in Westchester. Since it began in 2014, the Pleasantville Community Garden has grown and gathered over 35,000 pounds of fresh vegetables for Hillside, which serves more than 1,600 individuals across Westchester.

“To aid in this effort, farmers from the Market contribute leftover produce to go to the Hillside Food Outreach,” says Bates. “Our farmers, who understand the importance – and often the difficulty – of fulfilling a basic human need, have been able to contribute more than 3,000 pounds of fresh produce and fruit to the Garden’s efforts so far this year.” These farm-fresh donations wouldn’t make their way to Hillside without the work of volunteers from The Pleasantville Community Garden who pick up leftover produce and arrange for its delivery to Hillside. “The Pleasantville Farmers Market program has been an essential part of our organization and the amazing generosity of the farmers every weekend has allowed us to greatly expand and donate thousands of pounds of incredibly fresh vegetables,” says Devin Juros. “We look forward to continuing to work together with the Pleasantville Farmers Market in the future to donate even more and help resolve hunger in Westchester.”

Image via Pixabay