Orange County Food Bank Receives 100 Tons of Food

July 17, 2009 – GARDEN GROVE, California - Requests for emergency food assistance have doubled as a result of the economic crisis, causing a food shortage at local food banks. Help has come from an unexpected source. The Orange County Food Bank reports that they have received 100 tons of fresh fruits and vegetables from the Orange County Great Park community farm and from neighboring farms around the Great Park.

The Great Park is located on the site of the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. During the process of transforming the former military base into a large municipal park, agricultural production is one of several approved interim activities. The Orange County Great Park Corporation Board of Directors, in cooperation with Orange County Produce, remains committed to donate a portion of each crop harvested to local food banks. Current development plans for the Great Park include between 100 to 150 acres that could host a variety of agricultural uses and programming, including a community farm and agricultural production. That decision will give local food banks ongoing access to some locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables for the poor.

“We have created a world class plan to develop the first great metropolitan park of the 21st century,” said Larry Agran, Chairman of the Great Park Corporation Board of Directors. “Our interim and permanent farming activities will honor Orange County’s rich agricultural heritage, provide opportunities for education and civic engagement, and address a social issue, like hunger, by producing needed food for vulnerable Orange County residents,” concluded Agran.

“This new source of donated food is coming along at just the right time,” said Mark Lowry, Director of the Orange County Food Bank. “The economic crisis has strained our local emergency food network so it is a great gift to discover a new sustainable source of donated produce. We have already provided produce from the Great Park to nearly 30,000 people. This is a park with a heart,” added Lowry.

The Orange County Food Bank is a program of the Community Action Partnership of Orange County, a Garden Grove-based private charity.

Press Contact:
Mark Lowry
Director
Orange County Food Bank
(714) 897-6670