DENVER -- If staying at home led you to starting a vegetable garden and you don’t know what to do with all your excess produce, there’s an app that can help you out.
Fresh Food Connects pairs people with backyard gardens to a network of hunger relief organizations, making sure extra food helps someone in need.
For Pamela Talley, who has a garden of her own, it’s all about the process.
"Growing your own vegetables, I think it’s a source of pride and literally nothing tastes better than a homegrown tomato," said Talley.
She started her garden a few years ago and shortly realized she had an excess of produce.
"We had enough zucchini that even the chickens wouldn’t eat it and I didn’t want to throw things away," said Talley.
She found Fresh Food Connect and decided to donate.
From there, the organization paired with your ZIP code will pick up the produce from your doorstep and donate it.
Operations Director for Denver Food Rescue, Amy Moore-Shipley, says it's a huge help to them and many families in need.
"We picked up from 20 households last Thursday and had over 150 pounds of food," said Moore-Shipley.
CEO of Fresh Food Connect, Helen Katich, says now is more important than ever to give back and help those who are food insecure.
"We’ve lifted the veil during COVID-19 in highlighting some of these really big systemic issues. From 2016 to today, we’ve grown from one ZIP code to over 100 ZIP codes," said Katich.
They also have more than 500 gardeners who use the app to donate.
For Talley, her garden produces joy along with delicious food. Something she wants to share.
"I’m so happy to be able to donate my excess to support my community and give people access who don’t otherwise have it," said Talley.
