Almost every Wednesday, Olimpia is the first person to show up for our Farm Stand often before we officially open it up at 2pm.
We have this weekly ritual that I was a little annoyed by the first time, but have grown to look forward to each Wednesday. She steps out of her worn, forest green Honda Accord and slowly walks up to our farm stand with a slight grin if we’re lucky. She asks what we have this week wanting me to list off every item even though they’re on the display and she’s looking right at them. Usually one or two things will catch her attention. “Oh, green onions, umm. Those look nice.” Though she gets our bunching onions almost every week when we have them and the price never changes, she always asks how much they cost. I tell her. “Aaay! but that’s so expensive. I can get them for way less at Seller Bros”.
I then repeat my story giving her everything I got. “But I grew them with my own hands. We do all our work by hand. I seeded them months ago and have been caring for them with love and attention ever since. We don’t use any pesticides or chemicals. They’re the freshest onions in this whole city. I picked them this morning.”
Esto hace poco para convencerla o cambiar la mirada seria que me lanza. Entonces la miro y le digo: “Para ti Olimpia, esta vez te haré un descuento. Pero no se lo digas a todo el mundo”. Y le daremos un descuento en lo que compre. Generalmente nos regala una gran sonrisa al final cuando nos entrega el $3-$5 que pasa aquí todas las semanas.
Olimpia Rodriguez and her husband are one of the families that’s receiving a “Train” bag from our farm. This past Wednesday they wanted to come by and pick-up their bag (and a dozen eggs) at our drive-thru instead of getting it dropped off. Her husband came with her this time. They both were so grateful. She wouldn’t let her husband drive off without giving us $5, her little thank you along with a good smile. It’s the sort of smile we work for, that keeps us motivated.
Nuestra lista de personas necesitadas sigue creciendo, actualmente atendemos a 43 hogares con un total de 124 personas. 34 personas mayores reciben una bolsa cada dos semanas y 22 familias de entre 3 y 10 personas reciben una bolsa de productos cada semana. Y seguiremos haciéndolo y más mientras podamos físicamente.
Un gran agradecimiento a Nancy's Hustle, que ha ayudado a ampliar nuestra oferta donando arroz y frijoles secos (una gran solicitud de las familias durante las primeras semanas del programa), tomates enlatados y horneando algunos de sus espectaculares panes de masa madre frescos para nuestras familias. este sábado.
Gracias a todos aquellos que continúan apoyando este programa. Cada poquito ayuda. Incluso $5.
