Volunteers to harvest vegetables to fight hunger

OAK PARK-

Volunteers will harvest about 26,000 pounds of surplus corn, beans, peppers, squash and melons to help battle hunger in the Detroit area through November.

The produce is being donated by operators of the George VanHoutte Farm in Macomb County’s Bruce Township and the Boyka/Decock Farm Stand in Macomb Township, about 35 miles northeast of Detroit.

Harvests will be held Saturdays through November. The effort is coordinated by Forgotten Harvest and faith-based and community leaders.

Semi-trucks will haul the produce to Forgotten Harvest in Oak Park, where it will be sorted, processed and distributed to food pantries throughout Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.

Forgotten Harvest Director of Development Russ Russell says the program is “one more way” the organization “can help Metro Detroiters put food on the table this winter.”