FENTON, Mich. (WXYZ) — Every year, nearly 3,000 volunteers head to the Forgotten Harvest Farms in Fenton.
"We are harvesting lettuce, which we planted a month ago," Bernard Winkler said as he stood in the greenhouse Tuesday afternoon. "Got my scissors, got my rubber bands, wrap around, cut the stem off."
The 100-acre property grows fresh produce that helps to support families in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties who face food insecurity.
"We have some basil growing over here. We have some parsley and cilantro under the wrap. We have some cucumbers. We just try to use as much space as we can," farm coordinator Lori Setera said.
Setera says she originally started at the farm as a volunteer. After realizing how fulfilling the work was, she began working at the farm full time and has now been there for the last seven years.
Setera says after the produce is harvested, it’s packaged into smaller quantities and taken to the Forgotten Harvest warehouse. From there, it’s dispersed to local food pantries and given directly to families in need. Setera says every pound of food harvested is equivalent to one meal.
"Yesterday, we harvested 3,100 pounds of zucchini. And I tell the volunteers it’s not everyday that you help supply food for 3,100 meals. I get to say that everyday," she said as she stood in the greenhouse.
Setera says on average, the farm produces about 600,000 pounds of food for metro Detroit families every growing season. This year, they're aiming to produce 774,000 pounds of food. The farmers say they'll be counting on volunteers to help them harvest it all.
"We do have a large number of volunteers that come out here every day, but we need more. We need more help," farm manager Mike Yancho said.
Yancho says although the work is hard and the hours are long, it’s the mission that keeps him and volunteers going.
"It’s watching full trucks of produce. We have a 53-foot semi with two stacks of pallets of produce leave here almost every day when we’re in full harvest season, and I know that’s 30 to 40 thousand pounds of food, 30 to 40 thousand meals that are going to help the community," Yancho said.
If you'd like to help the Forgotten Harvest team, you can find a link to donate here. More information on volunteer opportunities can be found on their website.
