This goes along with the above from a survival list.
Want one more palpable sign of a desperate economy?
An estimated 40,000 people came to a Weld County farm Saturday to
collect free potatoes, carrots and leeks.
Cars snaked around cornfields and parallel parked along Colorado 66
and 119 early in the morning to get free food from the Miller family,
who farm 600 acres outside of Platteville, about 37 miles north of Denver.
As this prolonged Indian summer continued, the Millers had decided to
give away produce because so much was left over at the end of their
annual fall festival. Any day now, a few deep freezes would kill it off.
They expected between 5,000 and 10,000 people spread out over a couple
of days. Instead, they found themselves on Saturday morning inundated
with cars and people with sacks and wagons and barrels ready to
harvest whatever was available.
The Millers canceled the second day of the giveaway originally planned
for today because, as Chris Miller put it, "the pickins' are very slim
now."
At one point, 30 acres of family farmland had become a parking lot.
Their crowd estimate of 40,000 plus was based on the number of cars.
Sheriff's officials said they "wouldn't be surprised" if that count
was accurate.
Traffic was backed up almost to Interstate 25, and police ticketed
people who had illegally abandoned their cars in the frenzy.
"Overwhelmed is putting it mildly," Miller said. "People obviously
need food."
Evidently, Platteville isn't the only place where this is the case.
Last week in Denver, thieves broke into freezers owned by the Park
Hill Grandparents Organization and stole Thanksgiving trimmings —
including more than a dozen frozen turkeys — set to be donated.
And in Lakewood on Saturday, people lined up in the dark at 6 a.m. to
collect Thanksgiving boxes, donated by the Jeffco Action Center. By
the end of the day, 5,141 people had gotten food — the biggest demand
in 40 years.
At the Miller Farm, it never got truly unruly.
They had friends and family members help direct cars. Sheriff's
deputies cruised up and down highways trying to move traffic along,
after fielding complaints from neighbors.
The family makes most of its money in the summer and fall, visiting 42
farmers markets a week, and hosting a fall festival where relatives
charge an entry fee and then teach people about where their food comes
from.
Normally, any unpicked produce goes back to the land. But after
hearing reports of food being stolen from some nearby churches, the
Millers decided to let people take what they wanted for free.
Sandra Justice, a Greeley resident who works at a technology company,
brought her mother and son to pick potatoes. The price was nice, she
said, but Justice also enjoyed picking her own food in these
downtrodden times.
"Everybody is so depressed about the economy," she said, noting she
hauled off about 10 bags of vegetables. "This was a pure party.
Everybody having a great time getting something for free."
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