The Verde Valley Neighborhood Food Project, which supplies food to those in need in Camp Verde, Rimrock and surrounding areas, has grown its newest collection site in Camp Verde since its pilot collection in August.
VVNFP was launched in 2013 in the Village of Oak Creek and later opened collection sites in Sedona and Cottonwood. It is part of the Neighborhood Food Project, a national organization.
The project’s website states that about 40 million Americans, or 1 in 8, receive food aid, and 16% of households are considered food insecure due to poverty.
The Camp Verde collection site is located in the parking lot of the Camp Verde Community Library.
The program starts with donors and neighborhood coordinators. Donors receive a green collection bag to fill with non-perishable food items over a two-month period; neighborhood coordinators then collect these bags and distribute them to local food pantries. Project administrators recommend that donors pick up a few extra items each time they go to the grocery store to fill their green bags.
The August pilot collection filled 44 green bags, which seven neighborhood coordinators collected and distributed, with 623 pounds of food, equivalent to 519 meals. The October collection brought in 80 green bags collected by 11 coordinators and holding 1,066 pounds of food, or 889 meals’ worth. The final collection of the year, on Dec. 9, also brought in more than 1,000 green bags filled with 902 pounds of food. The average collection day across the Verde Valley results in the donation of over 12,000 pounds of non-perishable food that is shared with 10 local food pantries.
The next collection will take place on Saturday, Feb. 10. Collections are held on the second Saturday of every even-numbered month. The Camp Verde donations are weighed, sorted and given to Bread of Life Mission, the participating local food pantry.
“This new site could not have happened without Nicole Metz-Andrews of the Camp Verde [Community] Library, Ben Burke of Manzanita Outreach and volunteers from Camp Verde and Rimrock who have stepped up to become donors and neighborhood coordinators,” VVNFP project administrator Nicole Davis said.
“We are so happy that the Verde Valley Neighborhood Food Project has been able to come to Camp Verde,” CVCL manager Nicole Metz-Andrews said. “The library is so happy that we can host them and get volunteers, neighbors and community members involved. It’s been a wonderful thing and I’m hoping that we can continue to see it grow here in the community as it is much needed. Nicole Davis is amazing and being able to work with Manzanita Outreach in any way is always a wonderful opportunity.”
To sign up to become a donor or a neighborhood coordinator, visit verdevalleyfoodproject.org.
