ALTO PASS (WSIL) -- Peach season is underway at Rendleman Orchards, and the farm is also finding ways to give back to the community that it's been in for nearly 150 years.
Jennifer Sirles, Vice President, helped to organize a new food pantry in downtown Alto Pass near the veterans memorial.
"It's a farmers basic job to feed people, and we were trying to think pre-season how we could accomplish that," she recalls.
Inside are items like peanut butter, canned vegetables and fruits, as well as, soup and pasta.
It's to help families, seniors and those who are immune compromised during the Coronavirus pandemic.
"Some people have been layed off, they've been furloughed," Sirles says. "Incomes have been greatly interrupted."
Snacks are also left for children who play in the park and might not have much to eat at home.
The food pantry is in memory of Sirle's husband's grandmother, Helen Rendleman Sirles, who had a heart for the community.
Helen, who lived to be 104, was the matriarch over the farm for several decades and worried about others going without.
She spent many years teaching in Alto Pass and Cobden including during the Great Depression.
"She saw children that only got to eat every other day," Sirles reflects. "She would bring extra peanut butter sandwiches in her pockets for kids."
Sirles adds that neighbors in Alto Pass have stepped up, buying extra items while at the grocery store to put into the Little Free Food Pantry.
