Harvesting In A Pandemic And One Food Bank Garden's Need For Volunteers

A food bank garden in the Triad is adapting to changes brought about by COVID-19, but it currently lacks the volunteers necessary to harvest the amount of produce grown.

The Betty and Jim Holmes Food Bank Garden is situated on three acres at the Crossnore School & Children's Home outside of downtown Winston-Salem.

Coordinator Ellen Kirby says their work is highly influenced by the needs of the community.

“We get suggestions from Second Harvest Food Bank as to what their participants like, what they need," she says. "They have something like 400 social services agencies, food pantries, etc. that use the food that comes out of the food bank.”

This year, they've had to reduce their crops to just four main items: beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and okra, and they delayed opening to volunteers until this summer. Kirby says August is their biggest harvesting month, but with security precautions, the garden has had to limit its volunteers and currently needs more.

During a normal season, she says, they grow about 18 crops and last year donated around 8,000 pounds or 4 tons of produce to local agencies.

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