SHAVERTOWN, Pa. — Every week, Food Dignity holds a food distribution for area nonprofits in Luzerne County.
"We have New Roots; it's a recovery center for substance abuse, Victims Resource Center. We have King's College, Misericordia, Mama Bird is coming," explained Clancy Harrison, the founder of Food Dignity.
Locally sourced fruits and vegetables, free of charge, will fill up their trunks and be taken back to their members or clients in need, providing them with fresh, accessible produce.
"Getting the fresh produce for our members helps them build healthy eating habits and helps them to make healthier meals," said Leah Sivahop, a certified recovery specialist with New Roots.
"We have a food distribution center at the Bank's office," said Gabrielle Shonis, an intern with Misericordia's Mission, Ministry and Service Department. "Students can come by and take what they would like for the week, and then we also have it on Wednesdays as well. So, every week on Mondays and Wednesdays, we'll have a food distribution."
This is all thanks to the work of Food Dignity, which started taking shape in 2020 with fighting hunger in mind as well as sustainability.
"It's really important for us to make sure that we're getting farm-fresh produce to people as fast as possible. It reduces crop loss for farmers, and we also make sure that there's a profit for the farmers because we pay a fair price," explained Harrison.
Normally, on Mondays, this pickup is held in Wilkes-Barre, but this time, it was moved to The Lands at Hillside Farms to accommodate more food in the first "crop drop" held by the organization.
"Partnering with Midwest Food Bank all the way from Harrisburg, FarmLink, which is a national nonprofit, The Lands at Hillside Farms, and Food Dignity, to have a truck come with ten pallets of produce that's pretty much rescued—super fresh, super beautiful," Harrison said. "All of our community partners who are member agencies of Midwest Food Bank are going to come and be able to take as many cases as they want back to their nonprofit."
If you want to learn more about the work of those at Food Dignity, click here.