"What they've requested right now is just tree fruit — stuff that's easy to handle and eat, nothing that requires cooking right now," Feeding the Northwest executive director, Rod Wieber told the Capital Press.

Apples are an "easy, handheld fruit" that don't require immediate refrigeration, Wieber said.

"For a lot of folks that just don't have maybe electricity that are in remote areas, this can be dropped in or brought in to them," he said. "That's an easy, quick meal; somebody can have a snack or something. And it's one of the items that they're really asking for. Washington state grows some of the best apples in the nation."

Feeding the Northwest works with the region's agricultural community to send fresh produce to food banks across the U.S. through the Feeding America network.

Each month, the organization receives about 7 million pounds of fresh produce, including apples, potatoes, onions, and pears. About one-third stays in the Northwest, while the rest goes to food banks that typically don’t have access to this type of produce, Wieber said.

"When you see the devastation that happened in North Carolina and now the news that's just coming out of Milton, we know there's going to be more long-term support over the next two to four weeks, and maybe even longer," Wieber said.

Meeting the need

The organization works directly with companies that grow, pack, and ship the produce. They pack the produce for Feeding the Northwest, which then ships it to where it's needed most.

"We've had a long association with Rod and his group, and we have always felt very strongly that it's important to give back a little bit," said Mike Wilcox, president of Yakima Fruit and Cold Storage. "This was an opportunity to give back for something that was immediate and obviously devastating."

Wilcox recommends that other farmers interested in assisting work with Wieber’s co-op.

"Sometimes people get caught up in all the other things they're doing and they just don't really think about it," he said. "Bless Rod and his group because they bring it to your attention and say, 'Hey, there's a need here, can you help fill that?' I think for any farmer, if they're able to do it and they have an interest in it, it's a great way to do it."

It's part of our company's philosophy to make regular donations of apples to Second Harvest for their hunger-relief needs," said Johnny Gebbers, warehouse manager for Gebbers Farms in Brewster, Wash., in a Feeding the Northwest press release. "When we got the call about helping to provide assistance for those impacted by Hurricane Helene, our team immediately jumped into action to pack six truckloads of Washington-grown apples.