S.H.I.F.T. Foods, a local gardening co-op made up of high school students, is hosting a “pie-a-thon” during the holiday season. Members are selling and delivering homemade pies for $10 a piece with all proceeds going to benefit the Ferndale Food Bank. Ingredients and cooking are all donated.
According to Ryan England, one of the three S.H.I.F.T. Foods founders, they are taking orders via their website for apple, mixed berry (raspberry, blackberry and huckleberry) and pumpkin pies until Christmas Day and making deliveries through the end of the year (allow at least 5 days from date of order until delivery).
S.H.I.F.T. started, according to England, as a result of conversations with his father about the drought in California, the impact that it was expected to have on food prices and realizing it would be felt most by those who are least equipped to pay more. Realizing his family’s property could support additional garden space, he undertook preparing, planting and eventually harvesting several crops specifically destined for delivery to the Ferndale Food Bank.
England saw he needed some help and two friends, Elizabeth Hand and Kevin Rietveld, immediately stepped up not only to help but to plant their own gardens as well.
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Click for more informationDuring the growing season over 15 others, S.H.I.F.T. “members” as England referred to them, stepped up to help with the gardening and growing their own, all under the S.H.I.F.T. program to benefit the Food Bank. By the end of the growing season the program took claim to delivering nearly 1200 pounds of fresh produce including lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes to the Food Bank. England estimated there was 7000 square-feet of garden space dedicated to the effort.
This has all happened during 2015.
England hopes to locate a local business who supports their efforts enough to match the proceeds of the pie-a-thon so they can double the pie-a-thon’s benefit to the Food Bank. They currently are on target to raise $1,000 in pie sales.
S.H.I.F.T. stands for sustainable, healthy, informational, friendships and thrive. Read more about that by clicking here. It is the founders’ intent for the program to continue to grow, even while they attend college in a couple years.