Ballard Alliance to raise money for local farmers and families with Farm it Forward program

The Ballard Alliance has teamed up with the Ballard Farmers Market and Ballard Food Bank to fundraise for local farmers and families in need.

They’ve set up a fundraising website called Farm it Forward, in which donated funds will help provide produce for the food bank. Each week, the Alliance will deliver the funds to the Ballard Farmers Market organizers, who will then purchase seasonal produce from local farmers and deliver those items to the Ballard Food Bank. The food bank will then sort and distribute the produce to neighbors who need it.

The fundraising program was created by Ballard Alliance Board member Charles Costanzo and his wife Jennifer Rose. “The Ballard Alliance Farm It Forward program provides a way for market-goers to sustain the farmers market by buying healthy, organic, and local food from the growers and then donate directly to the Ballard Food Bank. It’s these kinds of win-win programs that will see us through these challenges,” Costanzo said in statement about the program.

Jennifer Muzia, Ballard Food Bank Executive Director, said there’s been a large increase in food bank patrons since COVID-19 began: “During a normal month we have about 3,200 shopping visits, but in April we had nearly 6,100 drive-thru visits and deliveries.”

Farm It Forward was designed as an additional offering on the Support Local – Ballard Marketplace, created in response to the COVID-19 crisis to help showcase the online shopping and takeout options of Ballard’s shops and restaurants.

Photo: Ballard Farmers Market on Facebook