spotlight on LOCAL
Home Growers Give Back by SUMAIYA MALIK / photography by CAROLE TOPALIAN
W
ith grocery stores like Whole Foods Market and
ple every year. What separates Feed the Community from most
Sprouts donating produce to Austin food pantries
others in Austin is their weekly buffet-style grocery service. In-
and setting up community gardens, one could as-
dividuals and families who have already filled out prerequisite
sume that the value of produce donations from at-home garden-
forms are welcomed into a large hall where they are given a list of
ers is diminishing. But in reality, the demand for fresh produce
available grocery items and two bags to fill with their weekly food
is on the rise in Austin’s food pantries, and individual growers
needs. They make their selections on the list and then proceed to
can give back to the community by donating their home-harvest-
a cafeteria-style room where volunteers fill their bags with the
ed fruits and vegetables to food pantries — no matter how small
items they have requested. While canned items and non-perish-
their surplus.
ables with longer shelf lives are more readily available, fresh pro-
Veronica Walker, a social worker and coordinator at the Feed the Community food pantry, explains that the pantry “started from
duce is always on every list, so it runs out fast. That’s where home gardeners and community gardens can help.
a small electrical closet … Word of mouth brought people and
Walker, who is acutely aware of the need for fresh produce, also
volunteers, and soon [the program] started getting bigger.” Now
oversees a community garden on the church’s property, which was
the food pantry, which operates as a nonprofit from inside the
set up by Sprouts Healthy Community Foundation. The garden
Gateway Church on McNeil and US-183, provides food for anyone
grows fruits and vegetables to supplement the donations to the
in need of assistance.
food pantry from other sources. A group of dedicated volunteers
Walker says that people come to their pantry every week to pick up supplies through a systematic program linked to the Central Texas Food Bank. Now the pantry is even part of Feeding America — a nationwide network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs that provide food and services to peo40 / EdibleAustin.com
work on the garden’s daily upkeep. Walker says the garden regularly supplies tomatoes, green peppers, broccoli, melons, eggplant, cabbage and other seasonal fruits, vegetables and herbs. Yet there’s always room for more, and Austinites can certainly help. According to the City of Austin’s website, “Austin’s Community
