National Night Out Food Give-away

Many many thanks to the congregation of Holy Apostles Church (2200 E. Minnehaha) for attending our National Night Out event at Conway Rec Center (more articles to follow about the event...). They are a predominantly Hmong congregation and have several farmers as members. This year they gave away fresh produce to NNO attendees as a way to give back to and connect with the neighborhood. Here is a summary from Lee Miller, Holy Apostles' member and elder:


We set up a farmers' market tent at the Conway Rec Center party and gave out vegetables grown by our farmers. Vang Ger provided sweet corn, green peppers, and onions. Lao provided collard greens, cucumbers and string beans. Neng Cha provided cucumbers, potatoes, kale, herbs, onions, and more. Pa provided onions, cucumbers and green tomatoes. The total weight was about 800 pounds. I had hoped to give some cut flowers away, but the message didn't get through to Song and Mai.

People could "shop" for what they wanted. Some were in disbelief that we were giving away fresh vegetables. We opened for business at 5:50 to a waiting crowd, and closed at 6:48 when the last cucumbers went to a pregnant mom who will make some pickles for her family. There was many a smile on our customers' faces.

Many thanks to Longkee, Maria, Nhia, Anne, and Rev. Letha for helping keep the tables filled with food and welcoming our neighbors. And special thanks to Neng Cha, who set up the tent and tables just like the farmers market, and had great fun giving so much food away. 

Next year we can probably give away 1500 pounds if the weather is good. We need to figure out how to make sure people stuck in the long, slow line for hot food get some veggies, too.
Peace,lee