POP Stand provides produce to help Girard community, food pantry - The State Journal-Register

POP Stand provides produce to help Girard community, food pantry - The State Journal-Register

GIRARD -- The Produce Outreach Program Stand at Center and Fourth streets in Girard is in its fifth year of providing a place where gardeners may donate their extra produce to help the community.  

But when someone noticed one day in the past that a member of the wildlife community had helped itself to donated yield, that person took action.

“There are slots that you can put the money in, and somebody, it must have been a little child, but they said they saw a squirrel taking a tomato and was eating the tomato, and so they left a dollar for the squirrel that had taken the tomato,” said Dave Denby, the stand’s founder.

“Every once in a while you get a note inside there, saying, ‘We really enjoyed this.’ ”

Most of the time food doesn’t stay at the open-air structure known as the “POP Stand” long enough for wildlife to get it. The POP Stand gives people the opportunity to help themselves and others to donated produce in two ways: People may take produce free of charge, or in exchange for produce, they may leave monetary donations to benefit the Girard Samaritan Corporation Food Pantry.

In four years, the POP Stand has raised $7,353 for the food pantry.

Several churches are sponsors of the food pantry: Church of the Brethren, Boston Chapel Christian Church, Nilwood Baptist Church, Girard United Methodist Church, First Baptist Church, St. Patrick Catholic Church and First Christian Church. The food pantry is open from 9 to 10 a.m. Saturdays at the new Girard Community Center.

The food pantry provides food staples to community members of the old Girard Community School District (not North Mac) in need at no cost (the food pantry doesn’t typically take fresh produce). Girard community members may visit once per month. Approximately eight to 13 families are served each Saturday.

Generous donations

The POP Stand is the idea of Dave Denby, a retired soybean agronomist who is a member of Girard United Methodist Church. The POP Stand is located in the church’s parking lot from mid-May to about mid-October.

“It used to be that people that had gardens would bring extra produce in (at Girard United) and set them in the back pew, and people on Sundays would take that home,” Denby said.

“That’s what gave me the idea is that there’s probably lots of gardeners that have all this produce that comes on at one time. You give it to family and friends, and then you’ve still got produce.

“The idea is for anybody that’s got a garden can bring their extra produce, just set it out there, and then it can go two ways: They can either leave a freewill donation, which all goes to the Girard food pantry, or if they’re in need, they can just take the food and not leave a donation.”

Denby, a food pantry volunteer, is a major donor to the POP Stand, having given a little over 6,000 pounds of produce last year. He has 1.2 acres of fenced land at his house on which he’s growing produce specifically for the stand. This year, his plantings include beets, green beans, sweet corn, carrots, okra, snap peas, tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage, zucchini, yellow squash, strawberries, onions and sweet potatoes.

“I enjoy growing things, and my wife (Sheila) cans, but there’s only two of us, so … we don’t need very much, but I like to produce a lot more,” said Denby, who added that there are many gardeners in the community who set produce out at the stand.

Randy Gray, president of the Girard Chamber of Commerce, said he knows several people who donate to the POP Stand.

“I think more people start using it every year. They start realizing what it’s for. … People are getting used to using it now,” said Gray, who added that the POP Stand is a great asset to the community.

“I do know several people that do donate to it that they’re husband and wife ... and they put a huge garden in, and of course, they can’t can everything or jar everything up, so their extras they take over there and drop it off.”

Gray said the POP Stand is an added resource for a lot of people and is within walking distance. Denby said it’s not known how many people come and go at the POP Stand.

“But we had some construction guys working, and they said it was funny -- somebody would pull in and leave something, then all of a sudden, somebody else would come in,” Denby said.

“Usually, I bring stuff. My major (contribution) for the week is on Saturdays, and I’ll come in 8 o’clock, 8:30 on Saturday morning and drop off buckets and buckets, when we’re in full, and within an hour, an hour and a half, it’s all gone. …

“The great thing is that all this food that could have gone to waste from other people’s gardens is now being utilized, and it’s helping people that need food, and it’s also helping the food pantry, if it’s somebody that can donate. It’s been a blessing two ways.”

Contact Tamara Browning: tamara.browning@sj-r.com, 788-1534, twitter.com/tambrowningSJR.