When they’re not busy helping out the Dartmouth Council on Aging, the Friends of the Elderly are finding other parts of the community to assist.

“Our goal is to raise money for the seniors of the community, especially the Council on Aging,” said Friends of the Elderly President Maria Connor. “But we focus in other areas, especially when the seniors are being helped.”

The Friends recently made a $1,000 donation to the Sharing the Harvest Community Farm, a 4-acre farm located behind the YMCA. The volunteer-run farm generates enough produce in the growing season to donate to 17 food pantries in nearby towns.

Recently, the Council on Aging has received donations from the farm on Friday mornings. The seniors are given a chance to take home an assortment of vegetables grown right in Dartmouth for free.

“This is one of the biggest helps you can think of: proper nutrition and fresh vegetables. The seniors are very grateful for that,” said Connor.

“Those vegetables go fast,” she added. “We’ll keep [the farm] in mind all the time as part of our giving.”

Dartmouth YMCA Director Mike Mahoney said the money will go into the farm’s general contributions fund. While the equipment on the farm was donated, it still costs money to maintain that equipment and to keep the farm operating.

“For every pound of crop we harvest, it costs us about a dollar to raise that and distribute it. So if we raise 80,000 pounds, it’s going to cost us about $80,000 a year to take care of that,” said Mahoney.

He said the Y has a goal of growing 100,000 pounds of produce this year, but so far they have raised $65,000. He expressed thanks to the Friends of the Elderly for donating.

Connor said there’s a donation box laid out next to the vegetables on Friday mornings, so some donations may start heading to the Y directly from the seniors.