Individuals and families turning to the Fruit of the Vine Food Shelf often come in crisis and stay to build stability. Sudden issues like job or transportation loss or medical crises cause food and/or housing insecurity, which all weaken the stability of a household. The Fruit of the Vine Food Shelf offers basic needs support, and crisis and resource assistance. These services are designed to relieve immediate stress for low-income neighbors while also helping them build a more stable foundation for their future.
Each Saturday between 9am and 12pm we serve between 75 and 120 families on a first come first serve basis. We offer food from all food groups and some household items and personal care items.
Donations of fresh produce, shelf stable items that are not expired, and household and personal care Items are accepted on Fridays from 10:00am to 1pm.
We are occasionally able to take food donations at different times if we are at the location. Donors are free to give us a call to see if we can work out an alternate drop off time.
Most Fridays we will be doing our prep work for the distribution which happens on Saturday from 9am to 12pm. We can take donations during that time. It might be beneficial to try to call or text with us to be sure that we are there and able to take your donation. We are often closed the weekend before or after a national holiday such as New Years, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
ProducePedia
ProducePedia is a free resource that covers the types of fresh produce that can be delivered to food pantries. Each entry includes information on color, taste, and possible uses. People unfamiliar with the vegetable or fruit will learn how to use it, and those who are familiar with it still might learn a fun fact or two!
The Cooperative Extension sites have a wealth of information for any backyard gardener. Once you go to the site (each one if very different from the others) look for a link for “homes and gardens”, “landscape”, “consumer horticulture”, etc. to find information on improving your backyard garden. Neighboring state sites may offer information your own state’s site lacks.
