On Wednesday, March 9, Weaver Street Market launches its second “Bags of Produce” campaign, which benefits PORCH, one of the hunger-relief organizations in our Community Food Partnership. Shoppers are asked to donate bags of produce for PORCH’s Food for Families program. A $30 donation provides a bag of 35 to 40 pounds of fresh vegetables and fruits valued at $60. Half-bag and quarter-bag donations are also available for $15 and $7.50.
Last year, WSM customers donated $31,845 to PORCH during the campaign. We used our buying power to turn that into enough produce and eggs for 84,000 meals!
We want our owners, customers, and staff who donated to the campaign last year (and those who want to participate this year) to know the impact of these donations to PORCH.
• PORCH holds monthly food drives in 175 neighborhoods throughout Orange County to collect nonperishable food for families faced with ongoing or emergency threats of hunger. The biggest challenge for PORCH is providing fresh groceries to combine with the non-perishable items to meet the complete nutritional needs of the families.
• The fresh groceries we purchased with the donations went to 100 refugees in PORCH’s Food for Families program. Because of our donations, PORCH was able to provide additional nutritious foods for these families, including two whole chickens and a 25-pound bag of rice each month.
• Since the campaign last March, we have hosted monthly food sorts at our Food House facility in Hillsborough. Volunteers sort and pack the produce, which our drivers deliver directly to the pickup sites for PORCH’s families. And sometimes we show up with a special-seasonal item—like a container of watermelons!
• PORCH had a very successful year, in part due to the success of our food campaign. When we began our “Bags of Produce” campaign, PORCH was providing a week’s worth of groceries to 270 families and also providing non-perishables for 9 food pantries. The donations from our campaign helped PORCH grow their Food for Family program to include 325 families. Fifty-five additional families may not sound like a huge increase, but with an average of four members per household, a week’s worth of groceries means 4,620 more meals PORCH provides each month! PORCH also just added the 11th food pantry to receive non-perishable food items.