The Farmington Farmers Market is proud to add yet another food assistance program to its list by partnering with CARES of Farmington Hills. The program brings together CARES director Todd Lipa and longtime market farmer Steven Goetz of Goetz Farm & Greenhouse of Riga in an effort to get the goodness of freshly grown produce to the clients of CARES, or Community Action Resources Empowerment Services.
Each Saturday, Goetz's unsold produce at the end of the market day will be loaded onto a CARES truck and taken to the group’s newly installed walk-in refrigeration units at their home at the site of the former St. Alexander's Church on Shiawassee in Farmington Hills. CARES clients in need of food assistance will now benefit from direct access to the nutrition found only in farm-fresh fruits and vegetables. It’s another way the market fulfills its mission of providing direct access to fresh locally grown produce to everyone.
“The more than 600 families and over 1,400 individuals who shop at CARES will appreciate the fresh produce each week,” said Lipa, also a co-founder of CARES. “It’s people like the Goetz Family that help us feed our hungry neighbors.”
For more on CARES, visit http://caresfh.org.