By Steve Keenan, The Fayette Tribune
OAK HILL, W.Va. — Barbara Painter, the emergency food director for the Fayette County-based Southern Appalachian Labor School, reminds us of the old adage “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”
While a delivery of about 36,000 pounds of the fruit received in Oak Hill Tuesday won’t put a few physicians out of work, at the very least it will contribute positively to the health and enjoyment of a bevy of local folks.
A semi-trailer truck loaded with West Virginia apples arrived at the Southern Appalachian Labor School’s Historic Oak Hill School from the eastern panhandle on Tuesday, Nov. 19. According to SALS officials, it marked one of the largest distributions arranged by The Farmlink Project in Los Angeles, Calif.
The apples were grown in orchards around Martinsburg and picked by migrants, SALS officials said. They were provided without charge to families as part of the SALS West Virginia Persistent Poverty Hunger and Health Project for the Fayette Thanksgiving dinner program, community groups through the county, SALS food pantries, rural families and other coordinated efforts.
The unloading, collection and distribution of apples was brisk Tuesday, so much that the majority of the apples were gone as of Wednesday.
“Groceries and everything is so expensive right now,” said Painter. “Apples, if you price them, are very expensive.
