Farmers’ markets across the Triangle area will team up for the first time this weekend to raise food to aid the hungry.
Farmers’ markets in Carrboro, Durham, Chapel Hill and Cary are participating in the Triangle Foodshare Challenge from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday.
The competition, which also supports the area’s farmers, aims to provide a total of 4,000 pounds of food that will be donated to several hunger relief shelters.
“We were the first to hold the Foodshare,” said Sarah Blacklin, manager of the Carrboro Farmers’ Market. “But we wanted it to spread to other markets.”
At last year’s challenge, the market set a goal for 1,000 pounds of food to donate to hunger relief and exceeded that goal by about 700 pounds.
The Farmer Foodshare program was established in May 2009 when customer Margaret Gifford, founder and co-director of the organization, said she noticed farmers were using unsold produce at the market for compost.
She and Blacklin then began to work on finding a better home for the food.
“It was about supporting a cause, and it just grew from there,” Blacklin said. “It was an organic process.”
Since then, the program has expanded to include four additional markets.