Rotary joins Second Harvest for Big Impact Project

Oct. 23—THOMASVILLE- The Thomasville Rotary Club could be found at the Second Harvest Distribution Center on Thursday afternoon, where they packed emergency kits for those impacted by Hurricane Ian. In addition to packing boxes for victims of the storm, the club also began unloading pallets of fresh vegetables in preparation for their monthly marketplace.

The idea for the marketplace and coordination efforts with Second Harvest began as a result of Rotary Club preparing for their 100th anniversary celebration.

"We had originally set aside money for a big celebration, but as we looked around we decided we were a service organization and shouldn't be spending that type of money on ourselves," Big Impact Committee chair Fran Milberg said.

The club knew they wanted to give back, but with the various amounts of nonprofits around Thomasville, they didn't know the best way. They decided to appoint a committee of eight Rotarians to come up with a service project based on a list of previous speakers and programs they had heard from.

"We decided to start immediately on this fresh food giveaway, so people could identify with us and know that we are here to help them," Milberg said.

The members jumped onboard the service project and with the help of Second Harvest have been providing to the community since early summer.

"Since June we have been giving fresh vegetables to neighborhoods that are underserved or far away from a grocery store, Rotarian Marta Jones Turner said. "We've done two versions of that. We've done a box of mixed vegetables and then in September we did our first market style and had a tremendous response."

The market style allows individuals to select the amount of fresh produce they need and what produce they want, so nothing goes to waste.

"At that market in September, we served about 170 households that represented 566 individuals and gave away every vegetable we brought," Jones Turner said.

Along with the fresh produce, individuals are also offered a protein, such as a beef stew or chili package. The protein is provided by Second Harvest, while the fresh produce is typically donated from grocery stores or farmer's markets.

Second Harvest COO Will Robinson explained that the protein is a government commodity, but the produce comes at the hands of donors.

"Throughout the year, we will have everything a grocery store carries," Robinson said. "It just depends on availability."

The market place guarantees individuals a choice of three fruits and four vegetables. Saturday, individuals can choose from squash, bell peppers, greens and corn.

"When we get to looking at the menu, if we feel like the protein isn't enough, we throw in some snack type items, especially if they have kids," Robinson said. "We may throw in some potato chips or TastyKakes."

The market place has individuals fill out a form required by USDA, but assures everyone that no one sees that information, nor is it provided to any other government entity. It is only used in the event of Second Harvest being audited. Once the form is filled out, individuals are free to choose the produce of their liking.

Robinson said he is grateful for the help of the Rotarians, as they only have one full time staff member for each of the five areas they serve, and is glad to have someone who wants to give back to the community.

Robinson knows the Rotarians will especially come in handy as they ramp up their meal boxes for the holiday season. Robinson said they typically see 1,200 families at their points of distribution during the holidays, because they typically bridge the gap from kids not receiving meals at school during the break.

While it looks like the Rotarians and Second Harvest may have their hands full, the Rotarians have even bigger plans and say this is only the first of a three-part phase.

In March, Milberg said they intend to plant community gardens in underserved communities, so if individuals run out of fresh produce, they won't have to wait on Rotary or Second Harvest to provide them with more.

They also plan to provide a community resource fair that brings in insurance agents, mortgage lenders and healthcare providers that lower-income neighborhoods may normally not have access to.

"We are just really excited to see these phases come together," Milberg concluded. "We want to give back to this community."