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HISTORYWhen Jacki Baer, a New York native, moved to Mount Pleasant, South Carolina with her husband Richard, a new chapter of her life began. Little did she know it would involve dedicating her life to building creative solutions to solving South Carolina’s hunger problem. After their move, Jacki and Richard enjoyed exploring their new surroundings and often found themselves driving around the nooks and crannies of downtown Charleston. On several occasions, they noticed a building on Meeting Street where young men would gather — it was Crisis Ministries, and the men were there to find shelter and food. The sight struck a nerve with Jacki and Richard, as they remembered the early days of their first marriages when they had trouble putting fresh vegetables and fruit on the table for their families. They both grew produce in their gardens and froze them to last through the winter months. They knew that if it was hard for them then, it must be much harder for those even less fortunate to find food - especially healthy food. Jacki and Richard banded together with friends they had made through the Charleston County Master Gardeners program and became involved with a local food-rescue organization. A few years later, Richard Baer passed away. Jacki and the friends she and Richard shared decided to create their own food-rescue organization as a tribute and memorial to him. When Fields to Families was founded, Jacki and the other founders decided to start a new beginning by remembering the past. During his volunteer work, Richard had often discussed his surprise that many local farms weren't able to use all of the produce they grew and disposed of their leftovers by plowing them under. "We couldn't let it continue," Jacki said. "The food had to be saved!" They also decided to implement Richard's idea to begin asking the farmers at the farmers markets for their unsold produce. Since then, Jacki has been instrumental in building partnerships between Fields to Families and local farms to rescue food that would otherwise be wasted. More than 30 local farms and other food suppliers are involved with us. Their donations are given to almost 20 recipient agencies that collaborate with Fields to Families to feed the hungry. In 2008, Fields to Families distributed more than 82,000 pounds, a total of 66,000 meals, to the hungry in the community. |