June 25, 2013

When the kids were ~4 1/2 we toured the Holland Rescue Mission downtown Holland.  After the tour one of the things that stuck with the kids was that the kids in the daycare center very rarely, if ever, received fresh fruit and vegetables.  Most of what they got was donated cans, which of course they were thankful for.  So much of our diet is composed of fresh fruits and vegetables, so this was a concern to them.  After that, "Fruit for Friends" was born.  Every week since that fall we have arranged a wonderful group of our friends a family (and the friends and family of other participants!) to drop off fresh fruit and vegetables to the children staying there.  It has been wonderful for our kids and the kids staying at the Mission.  A couple of years ago we worked with the group and built 4 raised garden beds in the playground at the Mission.  The awesome 'Fruit for Friends' group donated everything down to the plants so the kids could not only sample fresh fruits and veggies, but they could see them grow, tend them, nurture them.  It was our honor to plant these gardens again this year.