TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — With food costs rising, one Tallahassee farmer is stepping up to make sure no neighbor goes without a meal this holiday season.
- Local farmer Erik Barnhart is hosting a fresh produce giveaway event for the community.
- The initiative aims to promote healthy eating and support local agriculture.
- Watch the video below to hear how neighbors are reacting to the giveaway.
Tallahassee farmer gives away free vegetables to neighbors ahead of Thanksgiving
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A Tallahassee farmer is turning his family tradition into a gift for his community.
For Erik Barnhart, farming did not start as a job, it was a legacy.
His family has been farming for more than 30 years, and now, he is carrying that work forward in a way that keeps neighbors connected to the land and to each other.
Several days a week, Barnhart pulls his pickup truck into the corner of South Monroe near the Advance Discount Auto Parts store and sets up a farm stand. His table is packed with freshly picked collards, turnips, watermelon, sweet potatoes and whatever else the fields are producing that week.
But this week, his mission is even bigger.
As families prepare for Thanksgiving, Barnhart is giving away free bags of vegetables to his customers and to anyone who needs them.
He says times are hard, and if he can lighten someone’s burden, even for one meal, it is worth it.
“They appreciate it. It beats going to the store and spending money when you can take this money and utilize it towards something else. We all got to eat,” Barnhart said.
Neighbors from across the region make the trip to see him. Christopher Moultry drove from the Chattahoochee neighborhood hoping to buy fresh collards for his holiday meal. He says he did not expect what happened next.
“A lot of people are just stopping by thinking that they’re paying. So when you see people’s faces after they get something free, that’s worth a million dollars,” Moultry said.
And he is not alone. Neighbor Annie Clark says Barnhart’s presence on this corner has been a blessing for families who want fresh produce but cannot always afford it.
“God is awesome and that’s a blessing. Every year he does this around Thanksgiving, Christmas time,” Clark said.
Barnhart says as long as the fields keep producing, he will keep showing up on South Monroe to serve his community.
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