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Farm Aid feeds, and spotlights, the need for family farms

3 min read
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Farm Aid continues to grow its reputation for boosting those who grow food. The annual concert, instituted in 1985, is a fundraiser and fun-raiser that has contributed more than $50 million to American farm families, many of whom have struggled financially while serving as the foundation of a vital industry.

It was born thanks to an offhand remark Bob Dylan made on stage in Philadelphia during the marathon Live Aid concerts to benefit victims of an Ethiopian famine: “I hope that some of the money that’s raised for the people in Africa, maybe they could just take a little bit of it, maybe … one or two million … to pay the mortgages on some of the farms.”

Farm Aid returned to Washington County, where agriculture remains prominent, Saturday for a noon-to-midnight event featuring large helpings of music, food and people dancing at KeyBank Pavilion. An estimated 23,000 concertgoers came and went during a beautiful late-summer day in Hanover Township, enjoying the live sounds of Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and Sheryl Crow, along with a number of artists who are not household names.

This was a different Farm Aid experience from the one that occurred in 2002, when the pavilion had a different name. Now the event places a great emphasis on sustainable farming and preserving the environment.

A local change was initiated at KeyBank Pavilion last weekend when 724 Food Rescue came into being. The nonprofit group, an extension of 412 Food Rescue that mainly serves Allegheny County, is now operating in five counties nearby: Washington, Westmoreland, Fayette, Beaver and Butler.

Both groups, named for the area codes they represent, strive to save good food from being thrown away. They collect surplus items from events, such as the Farm Aid concert, and accept food donations from small stores, grocery and restaurant chains, urban farms and other nonprofits. The groups then distribute the food to people in need.

In its first endeavor, 724 Food Rescue Sunday collected surplus items from the concert at the pavilion the day before, then distributed them at Burgettstown Apartments.

“Food rescue is a universal need,” Jennifer England, director of operations for the 724 group, told the Observer-Reporter’s Rick Shrum. “We waste 40 percent of the food we produce in a year, and people are going hungry. If we stop wasting food, we can stop hunger.”

Preventing waste is a viable objective, one that appears to be working, according to statistics provided by officials at 412 Food Rescue. The group has been in existence for only two years, but said in that time it has prevented 1.8 million pounds of good food from being wasted.

The 33rd Farm Aid concert, from many accounts, was a rollicking good time. Young and Mellencamp, in particular, gave standout performances, with the inimitable Nelson closing the event.

It was a great day for everyone involved, especially the farming families of America.

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