Freezing, foggy weather didn’t deter Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance volunteers from trekking to Heifer Ranch in Perryville on Saturday morning to harvest and prepare for distribution thousands of turnips grown by the alliance to supply food pantries across the state.
Volunteers of all ages showed up in their warmest winter gear to fill large sacks with turnips. Children placed smaller turnips into their toy trucks, while other volunteers made the experience fun by comparing large or strangely shaped root vegetables.
“We have volunteers out here today harvesting turnips that will then be distributed in the charitable food network here in Arkansas,” alliance CEO Sylvia Blaine said while she pulled up turnips alongside volunteers.
“Admittedly, picking a quarter of an acre of turnips isn’t going to have a huge impact on food insecurity in the state, but what it does is it gets neighbors out here together, talking about the issues, working together, understanding the connection of food to land, and I think that in itself is a value.”
Joshua Haebor, who was working through the rows picking turnips, has volunteered with the alliance for several years.
“Times are hard for everybody, so we’re all doing what we can to give back to those less fortunate,” Haebor said.
“This is a good way to get fresh food on the table for those who don’t have access to it. We’ve got around 50 volunteers who showed up in 30 degree weather, so that shows a commitment to helping others out.”
The alliance hosted its first Turnip for Hunger event in 2018.
“This is the eighth Turnip for Hunger event, but it’s the first one here at Heifer Ranch,” Blaine said.
In the summer, there were 80 volunteers on hand to harvest 60,000 pounds of watermelons at the ranch as part of another annual event. On Saturday, roughly 52 volunteers aimed to try to harvest a few thousand pounds of turnips.
Saturday’s harvest was one of the first events open to the general public that Heifer Ranch has hosted in awhile.
“When covid hit, we sort of shut down having on-ranch participants come out,” said Donna Kilpatrick, director of regeneration at the Heifer Center for Regenerative Agriculture, otherwise known as Heifer Ranch, in Perryville.
“It’s wonderful that we’re starting to open up the gates and get people here again.”
The partnership between Heifer Ranch and the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance is fairly new, but the two organizations’ goals are aligned, Kilpatrick said.
“The mission of Heifer International is to end hunger and poverty and care for the Earth,” Kilpatrick said.
“Arkansas has the highest amount of hunger of any state in the United States, so we feel that working directly with our local community is really important and part of our mission. It’s something that we’re really focused on this year and moving forward.”
There are approximately 12 acres in production at the ranch set aside for the alliance to plant the produce that will ultimately feed Arkansans in need, though the ranch hopes to increase that amount to 50 acres, Kilpatrick said.
Heifer Ranch trains farmers to help them move from conventional methods of production to more regenerative methods, Kilpatrick said.
The Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance is a collaborative statewide effort with six Feeding America food banks to create solutions to hunger across the state.
The alliance’s more than 600 members include the six original food bank members as well as food pantries, soup kitchens, food rescue groups, global food retailers and wholesalers, state hunger programs and local advocates.
