For the past five years, Down to Earth in Kahului has provided Leilani Farm Sanctuary with 50 to 75 pounds of fruit, vegetables, and greens twice weekly. The donations are culled produce—they’re overripe and/or damaged and not sellable to customers—but they are delicious, nutritious additions to our rescued animals’ diets.

Volunteers pick up the produce on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. It’s then sorted and fed to our animals the following morning. Different species eat different types of fruits, veggies and herbs. For example, the ducks, chickens, geese, and turkeys enjoy greens, sprouts, tomatoes and bananas. The pigs chow down on a much wider array of goodies, including avocados, apples, pears, peaches, bananas, pineapples, tomatoes, zucchini and cucumbers. Guinea pigs are treated to a feast of parsley, cilantro, kale, lettuce, tomatoes, collards, celery, and beets, zucchini, and cucumbers.

Sandrina Redfearn has been helping the sanctuary by overseeing this program for about three years. Most weeks, if other volunteers can help, she does just one run, but she’ll make trips on both days if no one else is available.

“I live in Makawao, so I try to schedule my errands in town on the days that I do pick-ups,” Sandrina says. “I have a small car, but it has a hatchback and it’s amazing how many boxes will fit in it.”

She’s grateful for the partnership Leilani Farm Sanctuary has built with Down to Earth and for the friendships that she has formed with the store’s staff. “Of course, I also love being able to help the animals, even in this small way,” she says. “I wholeheartedly support the sanctuary’s important mission of caring for rescued farm animals and educating people about them.”

Haʻikū resident Melinda Walker started volunteering at the sanctuary 10 years ago, trimming the goats’ hooves. “Now,” she says, “I’m happy to make the drive for produce donations whenever I can. It feels good to know that food that would otherwise be thrown out will instead feed the hundreds of animals at the sanctuary.”

If you can assist with pick-ups, please email Sandrina at sandrinaredfearn@gmail.com.