Rotarians pitch in by cleaning, inspecting, trimming and packing produce at Salvation Farm's processing facility in Winooski.
The above photo shows, left to right, Ken K-Train Crites, Brendan Walsh, Ryan Layman and Ken T-Bone Puzey prepping potatoes for cleaning and processing. But the bulk of the day was spent preparing carrots for the Vermont Foodbank, who will distribute the orange and purple delectables to Vermonters in need.
We were led by Salvation Farm's Founder and Executive Director Theresa Snow. Theresa sacrificed her Saturday to lead our little group of volunteers, give us a tour of the facility and further educate us on the great work being done by Salvation Farms. The group's mission is simple, yet wonderful:
To build increased resilience in Vermont's food system through agricultural surplus management
Salvation Farms gleans excess farm products throughout Vermont. Much of that food ends up at Salvation Farm's processing center, which houses their Vermont Commodity Program, prepping the food for further distribution to Vermont's needy. The video below from ABC Local 22 News shows how the program also provides job training for Vermonters:
Here are more photos from Saturday's volunteer event:
Ryan, Meg and Executive Director Theresa Snow.
T-Bone and Theresa cleaning carrots.
Ryan, Brendan and Meg inspecting and trimming carrots for packing.
K-Train holding up a bag of Rotarian-processed carrots, ready for distribution to Vermonters in need.