Harvey Relief Efforts Get A Boost From ‘Feeding Texas’ Organic Growers

Twenty-three Certified Organic produce growers and distributors from around the country, led by the team at Wholesum Harvest, have joined forces to help victims of Hurricane Harvey in Victoria and Corpus Christi, Texas. The growers have shipped 70,000 pounds of organic fruit and vegetables to Harvey Relief disaster zones.

Jessie Gunn of Wholesum Harvest, who started the effort, paid for one of the trucks from Los Angeles, California, to Corpus Christi.

“I knew we could not stand by and do nothing to help, knowing we had the resources to send food to those without access to any, especially organic produce,” Gunn said. “It is the nature of organic farmers and businesses wanting to care for people with food.”

She reached out to others in the organic grower community, putting together donations from western farms, large and small.

Tom Lively of Organically Grown Co. in Eugene, Oregon, was one of the first to jump at the opportunity to help. David Weinstein of Heath & Lejeune, a fresh produce wholesaler in Los Angeles, allowed donated organic foods to be collected and the trucks to be built at the company’s cross dock.

Karen Salinger of Veritable Vegetable was ready to do whatever she could to help. “These parties ignited a network of organic producers and had pallets upon pallets lining up to fill the trucks, so it wasn’t one farm, one grower, it was the organic agricultural industry saying, yes, absolutely we can and want to help.”

It was Fernando Bojorquez of F & A Freight out of Nogales, Arizona, who donated $5,500 to cover freight costs.

Two trucks were fully loaded with 42 pallets of organic produce including: potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, watermelons, yams, pineapples, celery, broccoli, oranges, apples, strawberries and cucumbers.

Robin Cadle, CEO of Food Bank of the Golden Crescent received a truck of produce for the people effected in his area.

“A big thank you for your generous donation and support during this catastrophic time. You are certainly hunger action heroes,” Cadle said.

The Coastal Bend Food Bank (previously the Food Bank of Corpus Christi), in the hardest-hit area, received the other load.

The other growers who donated at least a pallet of their harvest to this effort are:
Access Organics
Andersen Organics
AV Thomas Produce
Awe Sum Organics
Corona-College Heights
Cuyama Orchards
Covilli Brand Organics
Deardorff Family Farms
Deer Creek Heights Ranch
Fraserland Organics
Fujii Produce
Heath & Lejeune
Naturipe Farms
Organically Grown Company
Organicgirl
Organics Unlimited
Sundance
The Jewel Date Company
Top Brass Marketing
Veritable Vegetable
Viva Tierra
Wholesum Family Farms