Giving is always in season

– By the Seasonal Roots Veggie Fairy Team

On delivery day last week, the day before Thanksgiving, one of our neighborhood Market Managers, Nickie, posted this on Facebook:
“I’m volunteering with the 25 Project to provide meals to roughly 500 homeless living in shelters and tent cities in DC and Northern Virginia tomorrow. I reached out to the good people at Seasonal Roots to see if they could send some surplus veggies my way, and boy did they deliver. Literally. All of this was waiting for me on the truck this morning. I am overwhelmed with gratitude to the farmers and founders who were able to provide all this nutritious produce to those in our area who so desperately need it. Stay tuned for updates on the mass cooking project going down in my house tonight as I prepare for tomorrow!”

Our Chief Happiness Officer, Lesley, shared NIckie’s Post on our Facebook page, adding:
“We get so excited when we’re given the chance to share the love of local, especially when it’s to those in need. We are incredibly thankful for sweet souls like Nickie who help spread that love.”

Later that day, Nickie posted an update:
“Thank you again! Meals were served to 525 people yesterday. We couldn’t have done it without your extreme generosity.”

4 ways to help

From our Hub in Richmond, Sam, our Farmer Connector, regularly donates any excess produce to FeedMore’s Central Virginia Food Bank. In this season of giving, if you’re feeling led to support an organization like that, here are four different ways you can do it:

1. Just by ordering your weekly basket from your online farmers market, you’re making it possible for Seasonal Roots to donate fresh local food on behalf of all of us.
2. You can also make your own food donations.
3. You can volunteer your time and talent.
4. And you can donate money — charities can always put cash to good use!

Looking for a local charity near you where you can help feed your neighbors? FeedMore helps the hungry throughout Central Virginia, from the North Carolina border up through Richmond to the Northern Neck. Check them out — they offer an amazing array of food-related services to families in need.

If you live closer to the coast in the Hampton Roads area, the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank offers an equally impressive array of services that deserve your support.

And in Northern Virginia, the Capital Area Food Bank could use your help fighting suburban hunger.

All three of these charities are top-rated by Charity Navigator. So you can trust they’ll be good stewards of your dollars, and offer meaningful opportunities for volunteering.

ABOUT SEASONAL ROOTS

Since 2011, Seasonal Roots’ online farmers market has connected Virginia families with local family farmers who use sustainable, humane practices. Our veggie fairies – mostly moms who believe in living better through scrumptious, healthy eating, being kind to animals, protecting the environment, and spreading joy – home-deliver freshly harvested produce, eggs, grass-fed dairy and meat, plus artisan fare. We empower our members to eat better and live better with more nutritious, flavorful food that’s good for us and good for the planet. More info at seasonalroots.com.