Joan: She Knows Her Cauliflowers

We were introduced to Joan as one of FareShare’s “super volunteers”, and it did not take long to understand why.

Joan volunteers with FareShare four days a week, helping both in the Abbotsford kitchen and at FareShare’s farm in Clayton. She has been part of FareShare for around 15 years, but her involvement grew gradually.

Photo description: Emily (left), FareShare’s Community Volunteer Manager, and Joan (right), sharing highlights from Joan’s 15 years of volunteering and having a laugh with us about her memorable “cauliflower recognition” moment.

She first started with the Monday morning kitchen team, helping prepare meals for people experiencing food insecurity. Over time, she began volunteering more often and in different areas, including growing and harvesting fresh produce at the Clayton farm.

Joan told us that one of the most rewarding parts of volunteering in different areas is seeing how everything connects. She can care for produce at the farm, help harvest it and then see it arrive at the kitchen to be prepared for people.

She shared a story about recognising some cauliflowers during her Monday kitchen shift. They were the same cauliflowers she had helped harvest at the Clayton farm the week before.

Not everyone was fully convinced. How could she know they were the same ones?

But Joan explained that when you spend so much time caring for something and watching it grow, you simply know.

For Joan, seeing the cauliflowers in the kitchen was the rewarding final part of their journey. She had helped grow them, cared for them, harvested them and then saw them ready to become part of a nutritious meal.

Before long, those cauliflowers would be part of someone’s lunch or dinner.

Joan may never meet the people who receive the meals, but she can see the difference her contribution makes, from the farm to the kitchen and eventually to someone’s plate.

After around 15 years, Joan still speaks about FareShare with warmth and pride. And when it comes to cauliflowers, she knows exactly which ones she helped grow.