When Hurricane Ida hit Louisiana, over two dozen farms from across the state of Maryland stepped up to provide disaster relief, donating over 100,000 pounds of fresh food.
First Fruits Farm, located in Freeland, MD, spearheaded the effort and organized hundreds of volunteers to package and ship food to Louisiana families. Established in 1998, the farm is dedicated to hunger and disaster relief.
“When Hurricane Ida hit down in Louisiana, we wanted to help,” said Jenn Gillispie with First Fruit Farms. “To send food to people that need it. It’s an awesome thing to be a part of” (WMAR).
“Everybody in farming, we always been about helping people in need,” Joe Barten-Felder, who is the Secretary of Agriculture and farmer. “Folks who live down there are true victims of what we can experience from the weather. And farmers know what it’s like to be victims of the weather and that’s why everybody comes together” (WMAR).
