Wednesday, a tractor-trailer with more than 40,000 pounds of fresh produce will leave P.E.I. for Georgia where it will be distributed to victims and first responders.
The trailer will include 17 pallets of produce donations, from five to 50-pound bags of potatoes from growers and packers throughout the Island, to carrots and rutabagas from the P.E.I. Vegetable Growers Co-Op.
“The PEI Potato farmers always rise to a need and this is no exception, even during the busy harvest time,” said Rodney Dingwell, chair of the P.E.I. Potato Board.
“We have a very generous industry and it gives me great pride that we are so quick to respond when someone is in need. Not only with our own communities, but as far away as the southern U.S.”
It’s anticipated the trailer will take about two-and-a-half days to arrive at the hunger-relief organization Second Harvest of South Georgia. The second-largest food bank in the state, it accepts donations and redistributes them among areas of South Florida, and is also a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) collection and redistribution site. The P.E.I. government is covering the freight costs.
“We are a small Island with a big heart, and this is a concrete way we can help those affected by doing the things we know best – growing quality food and sharing it with those in need,” said Premier Wade MacLauchlan.
Partners
Government of Prince Edward Island
P.E.I. Potato Board
Vanco Farms
Gerrit Visser & Sons
Rollo Bay Holdings
Sherwood Produce
Cavendish Produce
P.E.I. Vegetable Growers Co-Op
Morley Annear Transport
