A gardener looks proudly at an eggplant before plucking the purple fruit from a row of plants growing in the soil outside a local nonprofit.

Inside, patrons eagerly line up for an opportunity to choose from among shelves filled with canned goods and other food, including produce from the nearby garden.

It's grocery shopping time at the food resource center at Skyline Urban Outreach.

Katy Leffel, the organization's chief executive officer, said the agency at 500 SE 15th St. is always busy, but never more than the times on four weekdays that people may select free groceries from the nonprofit's client choice food resource center.

Leffel said Skyline's food resource center is a large part of what the agency offers to community members who struggle with food insecurity. She said the need

See Full Page