Since February 2024, Happy Dirt has redirected over 50,000 pounds of highly edible produce that can’t be sold at market into the hands and homes of our neighbors in need through the distribution power of Feed Durham. And in recent months, several Happy Dirt employees have volunteered at Feed Durham Giveaways!
Feed Durham launched as a mutual aid collective in 2020 in response to the pandemic and has fed more than 167,500 people in the Durham community. At Happy Dirt, we’re committed to building a more sustainable food system in our region and in our community where everyone has access to fresh fruits and vegetables. It’s an honor to partner with community organizations like Feed Durham that work hard to make sure our neighbors have that access.
We are excited for Feed Durham’s Founder Katina Parker to share stories, lessons, and images about our journey together this year. Keep reading to enjoy her words and photos!
a note feed durham's katina parker
Every week, Feed Durham swings by Happy Dirt’s East Pettigrew location to receive a cornucopia of fruit, veggies, beverages and snacks that we then pair with donations from 9th Street Bakery, Bulldega Urban Market, Redstart Foods, Gaia Herbs, the private homes of loving neighbors, and several local farms. Through Feed Durham, in a matter of 3 to 4 hours, between one and four thousand pounds of produce gets broken down and distributed to Community Health Coalition (serving 300 Black elders), The Mustard Seed Project (serving low-income Black and Brown neighborhoods and underpaid medical workers at area hospitals), Student U (serving first-generation college students and families), the LGBTQ Center of Durham, Durham Community Fridges (serving everyone, but mostly unhoused and low-income folks), Durham Rapid Response (serving LatinX folks in East Durham), Refugee Community Partners, Urban Ministries (serving unhoused folks), and several families that Feed Durham volunteers support.
This past February, we were connected to Happy Dirt through Haleigh (Quality Inspection Lead), who volunteered to help us install “Lovingly Prepared by: A Multimedia Installation by Feed Durham” at the Durham Arts Council in 2023. We met Haleigh through our work with Durham Community Fridges, an effort to offer free food to anyone who needs it through outdoor fridges hosted by various organizations and businesses. In 2023, after our first produce pick-ups for Feed Durham’s annual Thanksgiving and Holiday giveaways, Haleigh and Kasey (Quality Inspector) asked if we wanted to pick up produce every week.
Of course we said yes to the offer.
Over the years, we’ve formed and deepened relationships with a variety of community partners who have close ties with the people they serve and support, and who can move food and other resources into the community within a matter of hours, through pop-up giveaways, and/or direct outreach via phone/email/text. We intentionally partner with everyday good Samaritans and groups who help those who have limited access to programs and resources.
Fresh vegetables are the first foods that get cut from household menus when finances get tight, unless folks have their own personal gardens. Access to fresh vegetables determines the quality of life and general health for everyone in our community, despite race, class, gender, etc., and is a crucial line of defense against physical and mental decline, especially for those who don’t have insurance.
We feed our neighbors who are struggling at the standard that we eat – organic, no-preservatives, made with love and intense care – as if we had invited them into our homes to break bread with us.
For our first pick-up on March 1st, Happy Dirt sent squash, strawberries, beets, potatoes, pineapples, jalapeños, mushrooms, pears, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, broccoli and carrots!
That Friday, we rented a box truck to pick up several dozen cases of food, which were loaded in on pallets that afternoon. Then we bought $200 worth of ice to keep the food fresh until volunteers came the next morning at 7am to sort the cases for our partners to pick up. In less than 90 minutes, we broke down all of the produce and sent it out along with additional food and supplements we had on-hand, through Changed Paths so they would have vegetables to serve with the Sunday meal they offer to East Durham neighbors in need; the Mustard Seed Project, who packed the food into grocery bags and gave them out; Durham Rapid Response, who set up tents and tables in an East Durham apartment complex and gave away 1,000 pounds of food; and Durham Community Fridges located at St. Joseph Episcopal Church on Main St. and at CANDOR (formerly Part and Parcel) in Lakewood.
Our Sunrise Volunteer Crew rocked, including one young person, who came and helped us until he had to leave for his cello audition!
At Feed Durham, we excel at logistics and enjoy streamlining processes that keep local businesses connected to the community by supporting their desire to give back. We are committed to sustainable practices. Roughly 5% of the produce we receive from Happy Dirt needs composting. That March morning, we sent compostable produce to our farmer friends who have pigs and chickens.
From this initial opportunity we learned that we can move large quantities of food much faster than we once thought. Up until then, we had moved was 1,000 pounds in 3 hours and 18,000 pounds over the course of 3 days.
Please stay tuned for our next story about giving away Happy Dirt Produce through the NC Med Assist event at the Passmore Center in Hillsborough last March.
To volunteer, donate food/funds, or follow Feed Durham, read below.
More Soon,
Katina, Feed Durham Founder/Steward
about feed durham
Feed Durham is a scrappy mutual aid collective that came together in response to mounting hunger in the Durham area, due to COVID. Since 2020, we’ve fed 167,500 neighbors in need through our sprawling no-contact cookouts, where we lovingly prepare meals for 500 people per day, and offer grocery give-aways. Through dozens of community partnerships, we feed elders, people living in cars and on the streets, widows, unsupported LGBTQ+ folks, undocumented families, the homebound and chronically ill, elementary students and their families.
Most of our volunteers are community organizers, teachers, artists, farmers, parents, and every day goodhearted people. We are a multi-faith, multi-racial, intergenerational collective. We believe that we are only as safe as our least hungry neighbor. We serve more than just food. We serve hope.
Please volunteer. We offer in-person as well as remote opportunities like growing food for neighbors, research projects, community outreach and relationship cultivation, food delivery, rescuing resources from landfill, repair clinics for household goods, etc.
VOLUNTEER
Email: [email protected]
Call: (919) 907-0415
DONATE
CashApp: $BullCityEats
GoFundMe: gofundme.com/feeddurhamnc
Monthly Pledge: patreon.com/feeddurhamnc
Tax Deductible: tinyurl.com/5b2snaxp
FOLLOW FEED DURHAM
