On Wixom Road, nestled between Charms Road and Sleeth Road in Milford Township is “The Giving Farmstand,” an outdoor pantry of sorts packed full of food and other necessities for those in need.
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Cheryl Auger was out walking her dogs recently when she started thinking about ways she might be able to give back to the community. She saw the farmstand their family uses to sell vegetables in the summer and that’s when an idea popped into her head. With the help of a few friends, she put out some items and signs that read, “need food, take food” and “have food, share food.”
She put it up on Giving Tuesday, sent out a few posts about it on community pages and the response was immediate.
“That next morning, I went out to put something in the mailbox and I saw most of the products were gone,” said Cheryl.
But donations started coming in, too.
“The variety of products that people are leaving . . . fresh eggs, potatoes, apples,” she said. “They’re digging into their wallets and pantries, and their hearts.”
A woman donated a cooler to the stand, which now allows them to offer fresh food.
“It can make you float seeing that kind of stuff,” said Cheryl.
Cheryl noted that she’s had a steady stream of people coming to drop donations off, or take items they need – sometimes exchanging one thing for another.
She mentioned she’s also doing some outreach to spread the word so more people can benefit from the stand.
“I think if we can spread the word to other communities, maybe we can get through this cold dark winter,” she said.
