The Locals partnered with Harps in Conway to rescue fresh fruits and vegetables that are being thrown out and re-route them to schools and food pantries so they can fill bellies instead of the land fill! For 4 years, volunteers sorted through produce to donate what was perfectly edible and compost what was past its prime. This project rescued over 6000 lbs of food. The program is not currently running, but if you are interested in learning more, contact [email protected] 

Here is how it works:

The Locals is partnering with Harps Grocery Store in Conway to recover hundreds of pounds of food every week.

STEP 1. On Fridays at 730am volunteers show up to pick up the food at Harps

STEP 2. Separate things into Edibles and Compost (stuff that is far too gone to eat) 

STEP 3.Weigh it and record the amount via text message... 

STEP 4. Pack it all in your car...

STEP 5. Drive it to the school or drop off location....and that's it!

Now the school (or pantry) can sort it and distribute it to happy people who can add more fresh fruits and veggies to their diet :)

Once you signed up to volunteer you will receive an email confirmation and a reminder the day before.

Also, if you have an old fridge laying around, some of the drop off locations could use them to store the food, so please contact Sandra Leyva at [email protected] if you are interested in donating a fridge--you will receive a tax deductible receipt plus a lot of smiles and good karma :)

Partners include: Harps, Compass Academy, COHO, Bethlehem House, Carolyn Lewis Elementary Backpack Program, Florence Mattison Elementary Afterschool Gardening and Cooking Club, Faulkner County Library and Bell Urban Farm.