For those of us who love fresh fruit and vegetables, summer is Nirvana: peaches, melons, tomatoes, corn, eggplants, and more, all sold at area supermarkets.
But if you want food delivered directly from the farm to you, then visit the West Windsor Farmers’ Market, where 16 local farmers bring their produce every Saturday. as it ripens throughout the growing season.
Thanks to Chris Cirkus and her volunteers, market day has become a family and community event. Tents are erected for the farmers and vendors, while shoppers mix and mingle as music and entertainment play in the background.
But, this isn’t the end of the story.
Not everyone can afford the price of fresh produce. Thanks to the generous donations from shoppers at the West Windsor market, Yes We CAN! Food Drives is able to purchase large quantities of fresh fruit and vegetables from the farmers and turn it over for free distribution at the food pantries of The Crisis Ministry in Princeton and Trenton.
More than 1,000 children and families each month know they can depend on the pantries for their spring, summer, and fall supply of fresh produce, and not just the soggy beans in a can of preservatives.
This generosity, however, doesn’t stop with the shoppers. The farmers themselves not only give Yes We CAN! a discount, but at the end of the market day, they often donate to us unsold cartons of their bounty.
What a wonderful system—a win-win situation! Last year, our volunteers collected 13,500 pounds of fresh produce for the clients of The Crisis Ministry. This year alone, in five market days, we have collected enough donations to give the Ministry 4,200 pounds of fruits and vegetables, some of that from home and church gardeners. Thank you all, farmers, shoppers, gardeners, and volunteers.
With more and more families facing daily food challenges, we urge you to visit the West Windsor Farmers’ Market, located at Vaughn Drive, off Alexander Road near the train station. The market is open every Saturday from 9 to 1, with free parking. Yes We CAN! Food Drives collects produce every other Saturday. Our next drives are scheduled for August 13 and 27.
Come, enjoy and donate. Your neighbors need your help.
Fran Engler
West Windsor
Engler is publicity chair for Yes We CAN! Food Drives. For more information, go to yeswecanfooddrives.org.
