By Ian Thompson | DAILY REPUBLIC | August 07, 2009
Marilee Scholl picks peaches on her property outside of Vacaville Friday to donate to the Vacaville Storehouse. Scholl participates in the Vacaville Produce Pipeline which helps connect people who grow extra food with groups that feed the needy. Photo by Brad Zweerink
FAIRFIELD - If your backyard garden is more prolific than expected, the Fairfield/Suisun and the Vaca Produce Pipelines would like to you to donate that extra produce to help feed the hungry.
And to help gardeners connect with local groups that feed the needy, both have created a directory with the 'who, when and how' of getting the locally grown food to where it is needed.
'There are backyard gardens that have the tomatoes and zucchini that never stop,' said Karyl Hendricks, who organized the Fairfield/Suisun Produce Pipeline. 'Everybody has more than what they know what to do with.'
The Vaca Produce Pipeline started its work in February.
'We had all done some volunteer work and were inspired when (President) Obama asked for people to do a day of service,' said one the Vacaville organizers, Fern Henry. 'We figured this was a good thing to do in Vacaville.'
The Fairfield/Suisun Produce Pipeline was born a few months later after Hendricks was laid off, began a vegetable garden and started looking to give her extra produce to community organizations.
'The time has never been better for donating,' Hendricks said.
Both groups quickly found out that almost all of the city's food banks and churches are willing to take fresh produce.
Hendricks began her outreach with a visit to the Heather House homeless shelter and has been networking ever since, building a list of organizations and churches that gardeners can give to.
After she got in touch with the already established Vaca Produce Pipeline, she created a Fairfield/Suisun version of their brochure which she hands out at every opportunity.
'The pipeline has simply extended to Fairfield,' Hendricks said.
Henry described the Vaca Producer Pipeline simply as 'just a group of people with a brochure and an idea.'
'We don't have any structure. We are just trying to keep it on a very personal basis,' Henry said.
The Vacaville brochure presently lists 13 organizations from Vaca Fish to the McBride Senior Center while the Fairfield/Suisun one lists 14 groups.
See the complete story at the Daily Republic online.
