Trucks full of free produce have been showing up in several eastern Kentucky communities thanks to a local non-profit. Officials said the Hazel Green Food Project has given away around 1.8 million pounds of produce since last November.
Sometimes, that means Hazel Green founder Nicky Stacy has a lot of produce she has to move fast. She said she collaborates with county officials to ensure needs are met.
“When I have a lot of produce that needs to go, I'll usually start down my list and contacting the county judges to see if they want any for their counties, and then they just come over and grab it and give out,” said Stacy.
One day recently in Rowan County, officials announced that big boxes of grapes were available for anyone to pick up. Another day in Morgan County, it was crates of cucumbers ready to give away. In total, the nonprofit serves nearly 30 counties in Kentucky. Stacy added their partnership with Farmlink means all this fresh produce doesn’t go to waste.
“They rescue produce that the greenhouses, if they’re not grown, don’t look, perfect, they don’t sell them. So, they usually just toss them. But Farmlink takes all of that stuff and ships it to food banks all over the US. So, it’s really great,” said Stacy.
In addition to the pop-up produce giveaways, Hazel Green has donated hygiene supplies to schools and regularly gives away food boxes on the second and fourth Fridays of each month from their location in Wolfe County.
June 3rd, the organization is hosting its second annual Hazel Green Community Health Fair. Officials said the free event offers people an opportunity to get checked for a variety of conditions, including cancer screenings and A1C checks.