Mill Village Farms and Duke Energy host third annual “Yam Jam” event

GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA) – Thursday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, one hundred and fifty volunteers showed up to help clean and pack fifty thousand pounds of sweet potatoes for FoodShare program's statewide to distribute.

One sweet potato after the other, volunteers from eighteen different Upstate organizations packaged them to help under-resourced communities in South Carolina.

"The reason this is so important is because we know so many people and under resource areas are lacking access to healthy fruits and vegetables, and we know that that causes so many diseases," said Rhonda Rawlings with Mill Village. "So many of these illnesses will decrease just by adding healthy food into your diet, so we're really, really excited to be here today for Yam Jam."

Mill Village Farms said FoodShare Greenville is a core initiative of their organization. The organization said the purpose is "designed to make healthy, affordable produce accessible to everyone in Greenville County, regardless of income or location."

Partner Duke Energy said helping their partners and the Upstate community is important to them.

"Hunger is a problem. One in eight of South Carolinians don't have regular access to nutritious meals, [and] one in six of those is a child," spokesperson Ryan Mosier said. "So by helping Mill Village Farms and helping organizations that do this great work, we're really helping bring awareness to the issue, but also making a real difference."

Mosier said throughout the month of November, Duke Energy will be continuing their fight against hunger through a month-long campaign, partnering with different Upstate organizations.

Volunteers said coming to the event was important to them. Heather Whitley said food insecurity is a big issue that people don't realize.

"Food insecurity is such a big issue, and you know it's kind of a hidden issue," Whitley said. "We (Auro Hotels) love to work with all of the agencies in town that help with poverty, especially in the food realm. We know how important it is and we really want to be a part of that."

Mill Village Farms said by having events like these, they can provide fresh produce this for a fraction of the cost. They said their grocery bags retail for around thirty dollars but can be sold as low as five dollars with SNAP or EBT.

Anyone who was not able to attend the event but would like to donate can text "FEED" to 80888 to give.