Robbers will not deter Eastside Connect!
We have some sad news to share about one of our beloved programs, Eastside Connect. But before we go on, the punch line in this email is that we would love for you to volunteer to deliver farmboxes by bike. Read on to find out more.
Earlier this year, thanks to a grant from the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority, we shared the good news that Veggielution had added a bike delivery element to its Eastside Connect program. Started as a program to distribute good food to families sheltering in place during Covid, SVBC is now delivering 40 farmboxes by bike, monthly, to families in East San Jose. Over time, the program will expand to weekly deliveries. Veggielution wants to grow the number of boxes we’re delivering beyond 40, meaning we’re going to need lots of you to ride and deliver food.
Those of you who have volunteered know how incredibly fun this program is in part because Veggielution is a true community hub. I mean, if you think riding a bike is one of the best ways to get happy, try starting your bike ride at an urban farm surrounded by fresh fruits and vegetables, a beautiful pergola meditation area covered in plants, a kids garden, cooking classes, and noisy peacocks. (There’s also always donuts.)
Sadly, this past week, Veggielution was broken into and several trailers and bikes used for the program were stolen. While this is unfortunate, it will not deter us from continuing, on schedule, to implement the program. It just means we need to recruit volunteers who have their own way to carry farmboxes, ideally with any sort of trailer or any means to carry the boxes. Each box is 17” x 13” x 7” and weight varies around 5 lbs.
Can that be you?
If you’d like to get in a bike ride while delivering yummy food, please sign up for our upcoming August 7th delivery day here.
Also, here are a couple additional things to note:
We have all future farmbox delivery days up on eventbrite so you can sign up for:
If this is your first time and you’re not sure how many boxes you can deliver? We have two options for you.
You can tag along with a veteran farmbox deliverer to check it out before taking on your own deliveries.
You can talk with SVBC staff to figure out what your bike set-up can accommodate. We are confident that the average person can handle two boxes on a bike rack, easily.
Visit the Eastside Connect and register to volunteer. We hope to see you out on the farm! You can read more about the program here. And, if you have questions about any of this, contact Violeta@bikesiliconvalley.org.
