The Green Bag program has provided a full half of the fresh produce available to the Peterborough Food Pantry through the winter months for the past two years. This November marked the start of the program’s third season, which relies on donations from employees of local businesses.
The program is the brainchild of Linda Claf, a board member of the Peterborough Human Services Fund.
“In the last twenty, thirty years, the cost of fresh produce has skyrocketed and put it out of reach of many of our [food pantry] clients,” she said.
Although the food pantry receives “rescue produce” from the local Hannaford’s, Claf said she recognized the need for an additional source of produce donations throughout the winter, when contributions from CSA shares and residents’ gardens dry up.
Claf said she saw the employees of local businesses as an untapped community for donations. “Many businesses have been generous with their funding, but nobody’s ever asked their employees before,” she said.
Claf said that in January 2018, she began visiting local businesses and asking if the employees would donate small amounts of produce to fill the eponymous green bags, which are delivered to the pantry weekly. That year, the program successfully ran from February through May, and Claf said she’s extended the program’s duration every winter since.
“The concept has worked extraordinarily well,” she said. “Even [if] you’re up against yourself a bit economically, pretty much everybody can afford a bag of carrots, a few apples.” Claf said the program serves as a “reminder that there are always people needier than you.”
“It was a no-brainer that we would do it,” said Ursula Johannesson, the manager of Performance Fitness in Peterborough.
Performance Fitness is one of 34 local businesses, churches, and organizations participating in the program, and they extend the drive to gym members in addition to employees.
“It’s a great cause, and the members love the opportunity to help out,” Johannesson said.
“You can tell the people have had a good time shopping,” Claf said, when a donation bag includes a pineapple, or something else unusual.
When she started the program, Claf said she specifically asked for fruits and vegetables requiring minimal refrigeration, “But the produce goes out so quickly that it’s simply not a problem. And everything goes very quickly,” she said, adding that the pantry sees about 80 families a week.
She recommends that donors consider apples, oranges, onions, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, melons, winter squash, garlic, tomatoes or anything that looks good or is on sale.
The Peterborough Food Pantry is the only food pantry in the area that offers fresh produce, she said, and visitors “dive into” available fresh goods.
“Our people are cooking. Onions don’t seem very glamorous, but they go quickly,” Claf said. “People stand by the cart and talk about recipes.”
She said that a side benefit of the project is a greater awareness of the local food pantry, and participating businesses have a sticker they can put on their door indicating that they donate.
“We’re starting the winter season with the holidays,” Claf said, which means that people, particularly those putting together Christmas gifts for children, have less money for food and home heating. “It has been lovely to see huge numbers of participants putting things together in a bag,” she said. “The collective effort really changes peoples’ lives.”
The Peterborough Food Pantry serves over 300 households from the 13 towns in the ConVal, Jaffrey-Rindge, and Mascenic school districts throughout the year.
“They’re from all walks of life,” Executive Director Cathy Boss said. “All ages, veterans, people who are disabled … all of them are working hard.”
“Some come in once a month, some come in once a week, others come in once or twice a year,” she said. “A lot of people are making due on these incredibly small incomes, but they only come when some big thing happens,” she said, like an extra bill from a car repair or a medical emergency.
She said that some people only use the pantry at certain times of the year based on seasonal, or inconsistent hourly work schedules.
Boss said that people qualify to use the food pantry if their income is below a certain threshold, or if they’ve qualified for another program like WIC, Medicaid, or Social Security Disability, subsidized housing, or veteran benefits.
“We’re not in a society where asking for food, our housing.. is acceptable. Self reliance is the best thing,” she said, and that can keep people away who could really benefit from the pantry.
Boss said that the Food Pantry coordinates the donation of over 100 turkeys for Thanksgiving, and are collaborating with Shaws to provide holiday dinners.
“Our demand for food stays relatively steady throughout the year,” for everyday meals however, she said. “We only survive because this community is as open to helping as it is,” she said.
