“Beeting” Homelessness & Hunger

beet salad

Hope can be found in many places, but did you ever imagine finding it in a beet salad?

 

When purchasing their share of the Green Earth Harvest this season, shareholders were invited to pay it forward and donate to our new scholarship farmshare program to give families facing hardships access to fresh, healthy, locally grown organic vegetables.

 

A. loves exploring the native gardens and fields at McDonald Farm on
pickup days!

 

“Y.” and her family (initials will be used to protect their privacy), who come from Ukraine, are one of the families being nourished this year by the shares funded through contributions to the scholarship program and our partnership with Bridge Communities, a Glen Ellyn organization dedicated to connecting families faced with homelessness to a better future. Y. loves to cook, and having taken some English classes and working to secure her Driver’s License this past year, she is able to bring her daughter A. to McDonald Farm for their vegetable pickups. Together they enjoy gathering the fresh, colorful vegetables grown at the farm by our Green Earth Harvest farm crew, sometimes even picking produce themselves, and then taking the bounty home to create delicious and nutritious meals together.

 

 

Megan DeAngelis (L) of Bridge Communities and The Conservation Foundation’s
Jennifer Hammer (R) on a Bridge Communities veggie pickup day

Home hasn’t always been a given for this family, and being able to have a roof over their heads and a gorgeous beet salad on their table that they themselves created has given a new form of hope. “Last year I was lucky to share two words with Y. when she came to pick up her veggie delivery,” said Megan DeAngelis, Manager of Family Wellness at Bridge Communities. “They have blossomed so much here since being in the United States, and it’s wonderful to see the positive changes in their lives and comfort level here in Illinois. Thank you for making this happen and helping create so many beautiful memories for our Bridge families. They are absolutely thrilled!”

 

Your support allows us to carry on partnerships like this one with Bridge Communities, and grow the food that gives Y.’s family and others like them the hope that will carry them to a better future. Thank you!

 

Written by Jill Johnson, Communications Manager

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