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The Fruit Basket project was started more than 30 years ago when the Farm Bureau youth wanted to do something during the holidays for their grandparents and elderly neighbors. As the years have rolled, the youth group has stopped meeting but the fruit basket project has continued and grown. Shortly after the start of the project, Farm Bureau included the Morgan FFA chapter. When the FFA sold fruit, they donated a box of oranges and grapefruit to the project. Then various Farm Bureau Community Councils, 4-H clubs, and local businesses became involved in the project. The project even continued through COVID with social distancing as the FFA compiled the baskets and Farm Bureau delivered them by hanging them on doors for he elderly who did not want contact with us.

As the project has changed and grown over the years, the needs and goals have also evolved. The needs started out with the youth wanting to do a good deed for a grandparent or a neighbor. The county Farm Bureau also believed that the elderly do not always get a lot of fresh fruit because they will not spend money on a whole bag of fruit in fear that it will spoil before it is eaten or can not afford it. In 2021, Farm Bureau partnered with the FFA, Farm Bureau Councils and women members, and local businesses and added the Morgan County Senior Citizen lunch program that was started during COVID to get elderly individuals who lived out of range of other programs a warm lunch five days a week. Farm Bureau donated 65 assembled fruit baskets to them, along with delivering 85 fruit bags to the individuals on our current list.

We believe this meets the needs of getting fruit to the elderly in the community, brightens an elderly person’s day, and partners the Farm Bureau with many other organizations and businesses. When this project was started, 15 fruit baskets were delivered. In 2021 over 150 fruit bags were delivered in one day. In 2022 we were able to expand this project further and distributed 200 bags with the help of Meals on Wheels and our volunteers.

If you or a loved one would like to be included on our list for 2023, please email us at [email protected]

If you are interested in volunteering to deliver fruit to area seniors, please email us your information and we will contact you in November.