By Madison West
The Office of Student Engagement at Volunteer State Community College has partnered with Farmers to Families, a program that was created under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to purchase and distribute agricultural products to those in need, to hand out boxes of perishable food items on Vol State campuses.
“We don’t verify need, we don’t ask their story. If their trunk is open, we’ll put a box of food in it,” said Tiffany Zwart, Coordinator of Student Support in The Office of Student Engagement at Vol State. “This is kind of our opportunity to reach out to our community and let them know that we love them,” she said.
These provisions are not only for students at Vol State but for the community as well.
According to their website, The U.S. Department of Agriculture, or the USDA, and its Agriculture Marketing Service, AMS, have partnered with national, regional and local distributors with workforces disrupted by the closure of restaurants, hotels and other local businesses due to the Corona Virus Pandemic.
The program supplies boxes of fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products and meats to be packaged into family-sized portions. These are then distributed to food banks, community and faith-based organizations, and other non-profit organizations dedicated to serving Americans in need.
The USDA is currently in its fourth round of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program and, according to their website, have given over a hundred million food boxes to people in need.
If you would like to apply for assistance for a non-profit or find out more information click here.
“This has been an amazing opportunity for us, a lot of hard work, but a real blessing,” Zwart said.
These boxes will be given out weekly, every Wednesday, until Dec 23. They will begin at 10 AM and will continue until supplies run out.
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