When Life Gives You Lemons…

…Make Lemonade! Have you ever thought about how this common adage applies to food rescue? When you use this phrase, you’re probably talking about taking something not so great and making it into something good. But if you think about it, it’s literally about taking a bunch of food you don’t know what to do with and can’t exactly use all on its own and making it into something delicious.

You, along with other donors and volunteers, are making a whole lot of lemonade.

Let’s take a look at what you’ve been up to this week!

 

Ivy Tech Community College Students Give Back

Ivy Tech Community College’s culinary arts program has reached out to Cultivate about setting up volunteer opportunities for their students who are no longer able to attend classes in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Brent Spring, the head of the program, initiated the idea to connect their students with a way to give back and bring something positive out of these hard times, all while staying within their field of study.

Below is an excerpt from the South Bend Tribune:

“One of the students already helping out is Rebecca Jones. The Tennessee native said that volunteering for the nonprofit has helped ease the disappointment of how her college career ended amid the pandemic, with a canceled graduation party she had planned with her family.

Jones said she enjoys the volunteer work and feels her reward is doing something that relates to her career choice.

“I like what they do here with fresh foods, and they are feeding people,” she said.

In order to maintain the safety of their workers and volunteers, Cultivate follows virus guidelines like social distancing. Jones and other volunteers work with only eight people at a time and have their temperatures taken daily.”

We look forward to continuing and growing our partnership with Ivy Tech Community College, and we’re grateful for all of our volunteers who are “making lemonade” with us.

 

United Way of Marshall County Supports Cultivate

We’re grateful to be a recipient of a Rapid Response Grant from the United Way of Marshall County in partnership with the Marshall County Community Foundation. This grant was awarded to food pantries and organizations providing housing and utility assistance to families and individuals impacted by COVID-19.

 

Cultivate Hosts Milk Drive in South Bend

Cultivate was honored to serve as a pickup point for a milk drive in South Bend on April 10th.

In partnership with the American Dairy Association of Indiana, the Indiana Department of Education, and others, Cultivate stored and distributed 85 gallons of milk to adult and child care facilities.

In order to store the milk, many great partners and friends got together on April 2nd to move a freezer to our facility. We’d like to thank Denny Skeens, Koontz-Wagner, and St. Joseph County Commissioner Corey Noland, Tyler Kanczuzewski with Inovateus Solar and the James Doster Family. All stepped up to volunteer their time and resources to help make the move possible.

To read more about the milk drive, click here.

 

Unity Gardens Inc. Plants Garden at Cultivate

We’ve been dreaming about a Unity Garden at Cultivate since before we moved into our Prairie Ave facility. And last week, that dream became a reality! Our friends at Unity Gardens Inc. just know how to get it done. After just a few weeks of planning and a half-day of hard work, our garden is in the works. We can’t wait to see how this will stretch our meals even farther and provide colorful food and nutrients for the people we serve.

 

What Our Donors Are Saying

Your generous support of Cultivate makes it possible for us to serve over 15,000 meals per week to those in need in our community. We’re so grateful for our donors, and we love hearing from you too! Here’s what a few of you are saying:

“My entire career was spent in the food business with the last 15 years being with Hacienda Mexican Restaurants. One thing that always perplexed me was the amount of food our society wastes in times when there are people who do not have enough to eat. That was a question no one ever seems to address. I think Cultivate Food Rescue figured it out and has a viable answer. I am impressed by what they are doing to resolve this dilemma.” Bob Kill

“Here is the reason we chose to give to Cultivate. My wife and I read an article that featured the work that Cultivate is doing. We liked that not only are you helping feed kids but that you are also doing it in a way to help reduce food waste and promote healthy eating.” Justin Ashdown

 

Get Involved in the Fight Against Food Insecurity

We need your support to keep providing meals to those in need during the months of May, June, July, and August.

You can carry a family through these uncertain times by making a gift of $140 or a monthly commitment of $35/month for the months of May through August.

All gifts are tax-deductible and will go towards feeding the hungry in our community.

Please consider giving today by donating securely online here or mailing your check made out to Cultivate to 1403 Prairie Ave., South Bend, IN 46613.