Farm Fresh RI Offers Holiday Box Donations for Families in Need

For families facing food insecurity, a Providence organization is easing some of the concern over what will go on the Thanksgiving table this year. Nonprofit food hub Farm Fresh RI brings festive cheer in the form of holiday boxes stuffed with local produce and herbs, delicious sides, and even a pumpkin pie – essentially, everything except the turkey, and enough to feed a family of eight.

Farm Fresh RI has been taking the work out of preparing your own holiday feast by assembling and selling Local Thanksgiving Boxes since 2020, but this is the first year customers can elect to purchase a box to donate to a family in need, an initiative ensuring income isn’t a barrier to folks accessing farm-fresh, nutritious food. Their goal is to donate 250 boxes to hunger relief agencies, feeding 2,000 Rhode Islanders.

“Support from the community to donate these boxes will not only mean the world to the families who receive them, but also to the small local farms we are purchasing the produce from,” shares director of giving Nikki Ayres. Pumpkin pie from Wright’s Dairy Farm & Bakery in Smithfield, cranberry sauce from Harvest Kitchen in Pawtucket, veggies from Schartner Farms in Exeter and Zephyr Farm in Cranston, and baby bellas from RI Mushroom Co. in West Kingston are a handful of the farm-to-table fare customers can look forward to.

“Food has the power to transform,” says Ayres. “A hot meal – prepared with love – on a holiday surrounded by family is a gift that is hard to quantify.” Boxes sell for $85 each, and ordering closes on November 6. FarmFreshRI.org/thanksgiving.