Rochester, NH, Family Lost Home to Fire But Made Sure Produce from Their Garden Didn’t go to Waste

Editor's note: This article was written by a Townsquare Media Northern New England radio personality and may contain the individual's views, opinions or personal experiences.

I am happy to report that at the time of writing this I have never experienced what it feels like to lose everything I have ever owned in a fire. I can only imagine the physical and emotional stress that comes with something like this.

In the best-case scenario, you and all your loved ones are physically unharmed and you are only completely displaced for an undefined amount of time. Oh, and you need to worry about insurance money coming in to replace your belongings/ fix the damage to your home all while making sure this experience isn't too traumatic for your family. IT'S A LOT! And housefires happen all the time.

Last week, a Rochester family's home was destroyed by a 4-alarm fire. They are currently staying in a hotel and aren't able to cook their own meals but they wanted to make sure that the produce they grew in their garden didn't go to waste! I'll repeat that. They are currently homeless. They watched everything they own burn to smithereens. But they wanted to make sure the vegetables they grew in their garden went to someone who needs them! Excuse me while I go weep tears of disbelief.

Cheryl Huckins posted on the You KNOW you're from Rochester, NH if you... page to share this heartfelt story along with the photo below:

Cheryl Huckins is very involved in the amazing organization called Manna. Manna serves dinner to the unsheltered residents of Rochester every single week. Each week they work with a different Rochester restaurant. They figure out a meal they can sell for between $5 and $7 without taking a loss and then it is posted about on several different Facebook pages. People seeing the post can call the restaurant between Sunday and Wednesday and donate a meal over the phone with a credit card. Cheryl then picks up the meals at 4 pm on Wednesday evenings and they are served in the parking lot behind the United Methodist Church.

Manna was handing out those vegetables along with meals on Wednesday night in Rochester. The kindness and selflessness of this family even in the face of hardship is truly inspiring. I think they have some good karma coming their way!