During harvest season, Solidarity Gardens C-U maintains two drive-up produce drop-off points to collect vegetables for those in need. Your garden surplus will be going to the Bucket Brigade, Little Free Friday Market, Eastern Illinois Food Bank, Jubilee Cafe, Daily Bread Soup Kitchen, and more!
Do you have a home garden overflowing with produce? We can take your excess to share with those in need in Champaign County!
Guidelines for Harvesting and Donating Homegrown Produce
- Harvest in the morning or evening to avoid the heat of the day, or cool down produce in a bowl of cold water before donating.
- Rinse any dirt off of produce.
- If you are harvesting whole greens plants (like lettuce, spinach, collards, etc.), please cut off the roots before donating.
- If you are harvesting root vegetables (beets, turnips, carrots, etc.), please cut the greens off before donating.
- Put your vegetables in clean plastic bags, separated by type.
- If you are donating hot peppers, please label them clearly with the type of pepper.
- If you arrive to a donation site and the cooler is already full, please let staff on site know.
Donation Sites
Sola Gratia Farm
Accepting produce Monday-Friday
we will not be accepting produce on the weekends
Cooler is next to the wash/pack shed (the brown building on the north end of the parking lot)
Cooler will be emptied twice a day (around 8am and 5pm)- to maintain freshness!
Produce should ideally be placed in the cooler between 6a-5p or later in the evening once temperatures have dropped.
** there will be a flag next to the cooler for YOU to put up to indicate you've put produce inside **
Champaign-Urbana Public Health District
Accepting produce Monday-Friday, 8:30a-3:30p
we will not be accepting produce on the weekends
Enter the CUPHD lobby and follow signs back to the WIC desk (left-hand side of the lobby) to drop off produce.
Produce dropped off at CUPHD will be available through their on-site food pantry.
