An Arthur woman is driving around the north Wellington County collecting leftover pumpkins and strawbales from Halloween and putting them to good use.
Sarah Busby realized that a large number of people don’t know what to do with their pumpkins after Halloween, which results in many rotten pumpkins.
After she saw a Facebook post from someone asking if anyone in the community collects them, she decided she would collect them herself and feed her farm animals that include cattle, ducks, chickens and pigs across the road of Midgard Farm.
She put up a Facebook post about her collecting pumpkins in the area and because of the heavy response to her post, she says she had to ask people to place the pumpkins on the side of the road so she can collect them faster.
“I’m still having people message so I’m going to have to figure out how to get out there and get some more,” said Busby who collected over 200 pumpkins and 15 strawbales of different sizes yesterday alone.
Busby says she researched the health benefits of raw pumpkins and learned that they are high in nutrition, essential vitamins and minerals making the repurposing of pumpkins even more beneficial.
She says food gets pricey for those that feed their farm animals and using leftover pumpkins works out because the animals absolutely love it.
“A lot of people had pumpkins and didn’t want them going to waste and really appreciate us picking them up,” says Busby.
“Maybe a lot more people will follow suit next year and we can see a rise in recycled pumpkins and less waste.”
