Two organizations have once again joined to harvest and distribute fresh apples and peaches and help relieve hunger in western Colorado.

The Community Alliance for Education and Hunger Relief works with Food Bank of the Rockies Western Slope on the effort, continuing a partnership that began in 2016.

The Community Alliance for Education and Hunger Relief, a program of Colorado State University in Mesa County, provides hands-on training to interns seeking experience in small scale vegetable production from seed to delivery.  Interns plant peppers, tomatoes, melons, cucumbers and pumpkins. The site also includes an apple and peach orchard.

During the apple and peach harvest season, the Farm-to-Food Bank program can harvest up to 25,000 pounds of apples in two weeks. 

Food Bank of the Rockies Western Slope allows the program to load bulk, reusable bins that are transported by truck to hunger relief partners served by the food bank in western Colorado.

Last year, the program produced more than 70,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables for food pantries, food banks and emergency meal programs across 14 counties on the Western Slope.

The partnership grew in 2020 to allow for the purchase of fresh produce at 20 cents a pound. The agreement is in place until a local farm can be found that can grow and sell the produce needed.

“We want to help local farmers to get to the markets first. We want to develop the local market channels to help sell to the food bank. We also help test the markets for the local farmers. We will test out certain vegetables first to see if there is a feasible market for local farmers. We always want the local farmers to get to the market first,” said Amanda McQuade, program coordinator of the Community Alliance for Education and Hunger Relief.