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West End Neighborhood Watch members and food drive volunteers Geraldine Baker, left, Barbara White, Linda Laister and Nicole Campbell at the last food drive of the year on Aug. 15. (CAREY REEDER | ADVERTISER)

Boozer Farms delivers around 200 produce boxes to the E.M. Henry Park each week during the summer to give food to the West End, Clanton and Chilton County communities. (FRANCINE LEWIS | CONTRIBUTED)

The produce boxes from Boozer Farms included seasonal fruits and vegetables and other products from their farm. (CAREY REEDER | ADVERTISER)

Food drive organizer Francine Lewis and other volunteers carrying in boxes during a food drive. (FRANCINE LEWIS | CONTRIBUTED)

Thousands of produce boxes are passed out during the food drives in West End held from April to August. (CAREY REEDER | ADVERTISER)

By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

Boozer Farms and the West End Neighborhood Watch partnered for the third consecutive year to provide thousands of residents with fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the summer. The Thorsby farm and WENW completed their third summer in partnership together holding food drives at E.M. Henry Park each week from April to August. The final food drive of 2024 was held on Aug. 15.

Boozer Farms delivered around 200 produce boxes each week that were filled with seasonal fruits and veggies and other goods from their farms. Francine Lewis and Geraldine Baker are the two organizers that spearheaded the project, but they also have the help of fellow staffers like Barbara White, Linda Laister and Nicole Campbell, as well as other West End Neighborhood Watch members, volunteers and children. The boxes are free for people to come and get, and the staff also delivers boxes to senior community members who cannot readily get to the park.

“We truly thank Mr. Boozer and his family for being such a blessing to the community,” Lewis said. “It has been a pleasure to be able to serve the community in this way, but none of it would have been possible without the willingness of our West End Neighborhood Watch members, the volunteers and some of the neighborhood children (to help) every week.”

The staff focuses on the seniors in the communities to ensure they are being taken care of first, then they open it up to other people stopping by. The staff sets aside 30-40 boxes when they are first delivered to take to those seniors.

“Those seniors are guaranteed to get a box every week,” Laister said.

People can come in and receive five boxes to have and deliver to others. No more than five boxes are given to one party to ensure they are dispersed as evenly as possible out into the community.

“I deliver to my church, there is a lady in Verbena that comes and delivers to her church and other staff members deliver boxes too,” Lewis said. “It has just been a blessing to us as a community, and we are grateful. We come down here to give boxes to the people, but this is a fellowship too.”

Children in the West End community volunteer with the food drive throughout the summer and football players from Chilton County High School as well, carrying boxes to cars and delivering boxes. The food drive in West End will be held again next summer.

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