Approximately 40,000 people showed up to the Miller Farm last Saturday, located in Weld County Colorado, to harvest an estimated 600,000 pounds of free root vegetables.  The Millers mechanically harvest crops, which means that some crops remain in the ground after harvest.  Instead of letting the remainder of the those crops freeze in the field this year, they graciously opened their fields to the public.

The Millers expected about 5,000 people, but given the upcoming holidays and the current economic state, they received more people to clean the fields than they expected. 

From Channel 7 News in Denver:

The Millers told 7NEWS they realized the economy was bad when they started reading stories about hungry people breaking into food banks and churches to steal food.

"There are a lot of needy people out there," Chris Miller said. "The economy is bad, so we decided to open it up and let people come out and pick up some produce while it lasts."  Full article/video

Be sure to check out the great slideshow documenting the Miller Farm harvesting, and the video linked above.

Although this story warms our hearts during this season of giving, it also serves as a reminder of the difficult times facing many Americans today.  The Millers' story is a model of how deep American generosity can go.