Grow It Forward has been a leading force behind helping feed hungry Manitowoc County residents since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
They have been utilizing Northern Cold Storage to store truckloads of food and redistribute them to those in need. We spoke with Amber Daugs of Grow It Forward, who explained how they began this program. “Back in the beginning if April, I found out a little about some surplus food that might be coming through the system,” Daugs told SeehaferNews.com. “I wanted to find out how could Manitowoc County receive some of this extra food.”
She then learned of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, which is put forth by the DATCP. She was interested in applying for it but needed a place to store the semi loads of food that would be coming on a regular basis, which is when she reached out to Brad Bowman, the owner of Northern Cold Storage. She asked if they would be willing to store the truckloads of food that would be coming in. To which he said, “Absolutely.”
Since the first Saturday in April, Grow it Forward has been distributing food from 1310 Clark Street every Saturday except for on the 4th of July. Anyone can take advantage of this program with no prerequisites required.
On top of the community benefiting from the program, Daugs explains there is another group that is positively affected, the farmers. “There was so much surplus with restaurants closing and schools closing, that the farmers were having to turn in fields of potatoes, or they were having a difficult time getting animals to slaughter,” Daugs said. “This program is meant to help our farmers deal with the surplus food and not throw it away.”
Daugs says that since the start of the program, they have received over 508,000 pounds of food.
