AURORA | Earlier this year, Aurora resident Paul Bockman was in a bit of a pickle; he had a ton of onions. Literally, a ton.
The owner of Alpine RV and Boat Storage, Bockman started growing hundreds of bulbs in 2009 to sell to a local Chili’s franchise. This year, when Chili’s decided to forgo Bockman’s home-grown onions and opt for a cheaper alternative, Bockman was stuck with hundreds of them, filling up a handful of large garden plots at the front of his property.
“I had a choice, I could either throw them in the trash or I could donate them,” he said.
He chose the latter.
On Aug. 29, he’ll donate about 2,000 pounds of onions to the Food Bank of the Rockies, where the private hunger-relief organization will distribute the vegetables to hundreds of needy families across the state.
“I know it’s going to a great cause, and now these families will have fresh onions and that’s something they’re not getting right now,” said Bockman, whose property is near North Airport Boulevard and East 2nd Avenue.
Bockman, 80, has gardened all his life. He even grew tomatoes in 1958 when he was in the U.S. Air Force and stationed in Iwo Jima. “The plants got up about knee high, and the rats ate every one of them,” he said.
A few years ago, he had more time on his hands than he knew what to do with. So he put them to work — planting seeds, watering soil and harvesting cucumbers and tomatoes on the plot of land he’s owned since 1963, before it was technically part of Aurora.
He donated the crops and plants to Excelsior Youth Center, Aurora’s residential treatment center for troubled teenaged girls. Then he moved on to onions. With the help of his son, Bockman built several large wood containers in 2009, filled them with soil and connected a watering system. He planted a variety of seedlings — Walla Walla sweets, Alisa Craigs and reds. Each year, he earned a bit of extra pocket money by selling the crops to restaurants.
This year, he was disheartened when Chili’s couldn’t take them off his hands. He and his wife barely ever eat onions themselves; Bockman says they’ll only use one or two slivers for hamburgers and the rest will go to waste.
“Here I sat, with thousands of pounds of onions,” he said. Aurora City Councilwoman Marsha Berzins, who met him several months ago, suggested he donate them. Both were thrilled when they finally set on the Food Bank of the Rockies.
“None of us know when we’re going to be in the situation where we need some help,” Berzins said.
“It could happen tomorrow,” Bockman added, saying he encourages other gardeners to grow produce specifically for donating.
Gwen Vogelzang, spokeswoman for Food Bank of the Rockies, said Bockman’s donation is the largest single-garden donation the organization has ever received. The Food Bank of the Rockies usually receives produce donations in bulk from community garden groups, but rarely from a single gardener.
“It’s common that people will grow produce and donate it, but typically it’s not such a mass quantity … what he’s doing is awesome,” she said.
Produce, especially fresh produce, is hard to come by at the food bank because it’s so expensive, she said. “We end up purchasing a lot,” she said.
Bockman is donating about $2,000 worth of his 1-pound onions, which will be distributed to about 500 families around the state, Vogelzang said.
“We really rely on folks like Paul to serve our neighbors in need,” she said. “It’s a community effort, and donations of all variations are crucial to our mission of fighting hunger and feeding hope.”
The Food Bank of the Rockies partners with 1,100 agencies in Colorado and Wyoming to distribute food. There are 10 agencies in Arapahoe County, including Aurora Alliance Church, Aurora Inter Church Task Force, Mississippi Avenue Baptist Church and The Potter’s House Church.
“Those onions will be gone in a matter of days with our agencies,” Vogelzang said.
Reach reporter Sara Castellanos at 720-449-9036 or sara@aurorasentinel.com.
To donate your own produce, visit foodbankrockies.org.