Food program seeks new help
Posted Mar 12, 2010 By John Nelson
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Tweet ThisEMC News - Organizers of the North Dundas Green Food Bag program are looking for a few fresh faces to help prepare the locally acquired fruit and vegetables distributed each month.
"Volunteers are badly needed," said North Dundas community development programmer Meaghan Elder, who led the way in establishing the popular food bag program in 2008. "It's getting to the point where we require volunteers to speed up the process."
About nine volunteers gather on the last Friday of each month at the Winchester arena to prepare the individual packages, a process that takes about 2 hours.
Under the food bag program, participants pay $10, in advance, with the money pooled to purchase fruit and vegetables. Contents of each bag reflect seasonal availability, market prices and participant feedback.
But the program is a victim of its own success with well over 100 orders most months, and not enough volunteers to share the work.
"This program has been really embraced by the community," said Ms. Elder. "The numbers keep going up."
At least six individuals are needed to help with the Friday morning sort but "more would be even better," said Ms. Elder. "There's always something for everyone to do."
Once the fruit and vegetables are unloaded, any extra packaging is removed and the month's items sorted.
"Then we pack, kind of like an assembly line," said Ms. Elder, explaining produce is laid out from heaviest to lightest.
"I would like one person per item," she said. "It makes it go so quick. We could cut down on the processing time with extra volunteers."
Volunteers are also required for the Friday pick-ups, which run from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Winchester arena boardroom. Orders can also be placed and picked up in Chesterville.
Ms. Elder said the Green Food Bag program has branched out into other communities, where the North Dundas initiative is used as a model, but is set to take deeper root in the community. She said that the program is on the verge of an agreement with a local grower to supply some produce.
"There will be even more variety in the bags," said Ms. Elder, looking forward to the summer growing season. She said the agreement would bring a number of new items, such as beans and spinach, to the mix.
"It's a nice complement to Mike Dean's," said Ms. Elder, referring to the local grocery store chain that is a partner of the Green Food Bag program.
The program also partners with the North Dundas Chamber of Commerce, Eastern Ontario Health Unit and the T.R. Leger School for Adult and Continuing Education.
Anyone interested in participating in the program should contact Ms. Elder at 613-774-2105, ext. 236.
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