We have a 20 year history of charity, either by directly donating the produce to organizations or through the proceeds, having tried many different methods in doing so.
Twenty years ago, when we were located in Phoenix, we donated vegetables directly to the Pine/Strawberry Food Bank, the Payson Food Bank, the Pine-Strawberry Senior Center and the Payson Senior Center.
Later we sold the vegetables in the Valley and gave all the proceeds to St. Mary’s Food Bank.
When we moved to Strawberry permanently, we started donating vegetables directly to the Time Out Shelter (for abused women and children), the ReStore (for the Habitat for Humanity) and the Pine-Strawberry Senior Center.
In recent years we returned to selling the produce first and then giving all the proceeds to the Pine-Strawberry Food Bank, the Humane Society for Central Arizona and the Isabella Hunt Memorial Library in Pine.
Last year we were forced to reduce the charity from 100% of the proceeds to 50% because the water bill from the Pine Strawberry Water Improvement District was so high. And the 50% I kept didn’t even pay for the entire water bill last year, because they raised their rates by 50% again.
We ended up paying an additional $1,500 out of pocket for water last year, along with @ $1,500 for the Garden startup. But the 50% of the proceeds that I kept for the charities added up to about $2,300, with $1000 to the Food Bank, $1,000 to the Humane Society and @$300 to the Library (about the same as the year before).
This year we will again be donating 50% of all proceeds or $2,300, whichever comes first.
