Local food pantries harvest corn at the Y

MARION - Vicki Noggle pulled up to a patch of sweet corn outside the Marion Family YMCA on Wednesday. Her SUV was filled with cardboard boxes. 

She had arrived that morning to harvest the crop for the Johnson/Rudd Community Food Pantry on Marion-Agosta Road. 

"This will be in the hands of those we serve this afternoon," Noggle said, holding an ear of corn. 

James Shoffner, a volunteer with the pantry, walked behind her holding two bags full of corn. 

They were there on behalf of a program that grows an acre of sweet corn every year for food pantries and county residents to collect. 

The project stems from a partnership between the local Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, Pioneering Healthier Communities, Creating Healthier Communities, the Y and farmers volunteering their services. 

Heather Wright, the wellness director for the local Y, said the goal is to promote healthier eating habits in the community.

She said that once the corn is ready to be picked, food pantries are invited to collect the crop during a two-day window.

Food pantries are chosen based on the ability to distribute the corn in a 48-hour period. After that, it is opened to the public. 

"We tell them which ones are ready for picking," Wright said pointing to the black silk protruding from the corn.

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The first acre of sweet corn was planted on a stretch of soil at the rear of the Y's property on East Barks Road in the summer of 2014. It has been open to the public every year since, except for 2017 as a walking path was extended around the area.

 "It's a way for us to give back," Wright said. 

Lisa Shumaker, with the Marion County Farm Bureau, said the project also promotes the organization's Farm to Family program, which teaches families how to prepare the food that farmers produce in a healthy way.

She said in the past, recipe cards have been distributed on how to prepare meals with the corn that is budget friendly. 

"Our mission is to help those in need, so reaching out to our local pantries and having them come out first was a no brainer," the Marion resident said. 

Fellow member Evan Long donated the seeds, while Shumaker's father Steve Wickersham planted them in May. The sweet corn is usually picked the week it becomes ripe. 

"By the end, most of it is gone," Shumaker said. 

HKarim@nncogannett.com

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