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18 NORTHWEST HARVEST COMMUNITY REPORT 19

are often health issues and some are also out of active work
and they can’t afford three square meals a day,” he says.

That’s why Darko wanted to focus his efforts on helping older
people in the community. In the summer of 2017, he made
good on his promise, launching Eastern Harvest Food Bank in
the New Juaben Municipality of Ghana’s Eastern Region.
Darko started by asking close friends and family to donate food.
So far 30 volunteers, some of whom work with the Municipal
Nutrition Office and Food and Drug Authority, have given
their time to help him distribute food at the country’s first and
only food bank. Some volunteers return with donations.
Darko wants to better understand the range of challenges of
running a food bank before he tries to establish a second in
another part of the country. With guidance from Northwest
Harvest’s Hunger Response Network staff, he hopes to
grow and expand his services in his home country.

Despite the worry each week about how to find more donations
to supply all the people in need with staples such as rice, oil,
beans, tomato paste, sugar, and gari (a popular West African
food made from cassava tubers), Darko says the experience has
been incredibly rewarding. “You can see how thankful people
are. They appreciate it so much. That’s the true reward.”

Special thanks to Stephanie Genkin, World Learning,
for her contribution in telling Eric’s story.
Eastern Harvest Food Bank