Farm's excess ears provide fresh corn for Westmoreland Food Bank recipients

Ideal growing conditions this summer left John and Sam Greenawalt up to their ears in excess sweet corn on their Sewickley Township farm.

That overabundance now is a windfall for the Westmoreland County Food Bank and the families it serves.

About 30 volunteers gathered Wednesday morning at one of the brothers’ fields near West Newton and, in a few hours’ time, hand-picked more than 6,400 pounds of the fresh produce — the equivalent of roughly 500 dozen ears.

Gathered in sacks and then loaded into 10 large bins, the corn was trucked to the food bank in Delmont, where additional volunteer labor will be used to pack the ears in plastic bags suitable for distribution, according to Gina Colosimo, director of volunteers and food drives for the organization.

Those in need will receive the corn either through one of the food bank’s affiliated pantries or through one of its Grab and Go Fresh Express distributions.

Colosimo praised “all the wonderful volunteers who braved the heat to help those in Westmoreland County.” It was the second such “gleaning” event this month that brought the food bank and the Greenawalts together to address local food insecurity.

For about 15 years, the Greenawalt family has been donating any surplus corn it grows to food banks in Westmoreland and Allegheny counties.

“It’s a year-to-year thing,” said John Greenawalt. “It’s nice to be able to give back to the community.”

The Delmont-area office of Eastern Gas Transmission and Storage, which now operates under the name BHE GT&S, was represented by 10 volunteers on Wednesday.

The company’s local staff has pitched in before to help sort and package produce for the food bank, including peeling heads of cabbage. But this was their first time picking corn.

“It’s great to be out together again today, doing work for such a worthy cause,” said Dania Rountree of Port Vue, operations coordinator. “We wouldn’t be able to do this without our core of volunteers who come and help.”

Sam Greenawalt coached the volunteers on how to recognize and avoid ears that were damaged by animals.

Junior Sidney Bauer of Trafford was one of a handful of students at Penn-Trafford High School who received credit toward required community service hours by joining the corn-picking crew. She also has helped before at the food bank.

“I package senior citizens’ food boxes,” she said. “It’s a fun environment, and I get to help people.”

Bauer encouraged her friend and classmate, Ella Kohan, also of Trafford, to help tackle the Greenawalt cornstalks.

“I’ve only peeled corn,” Kohan said.

The most experienced volunteer on hand was Lee Ann Roadman of Acme, who brought along a friend, her daughter and two grandsons to help harvest the corn.

“I’ve been picking corn since I was a little kid,” she said, noting her family used to operate a horse farm. “My roots are in farming. I want to get the kids involved for the next generation.”

Roadman found out about the volunteer event online, through a group she helped found, Southwestern PA Support Farms and Markets. The group’s mission, she said, is to connect consumers with those who produce the foods they enjoy. “It’s my turn to give back and help the farmers out,” she said.

The food bank volunteers had their work cut out for them in picking the viable ears of corn from the Greenawalt field. “It’s very labor-intensive,” Sam Greenawalt noted.

With a bottled water break, the volunteer crew survived the blazing heat as they worked through the rows of corn. Sharp edges on cornstalks resulted in a few minor cuts on fingers, but no complaints were heard as Colosimo broke out her first aid kit.

Louise Wilhelm of Hempfield, who preceded Colosimo as the food bank’s director of volunteers, retired in September. But that didn’t stop her from joining Wednesday’s effort.

“I love to be outdoors,” she said.