Plant starts and seed donations are a great way to get more fresh veggies into the hands of the folks who need them. This simultaneously empowers people and provides an opportunity for giving back – it is the gift that keeps giving!
WSU Cooperative Extension is a state-wide county resource for Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, with the mission of extending knowledge and changing lives. It was founded by the Smith-Lever Act in 1914..
Grow a Row is an international initiative that works to get backyard gardeners involved in donating freshly grown produce directly to their local food bank. We encouraged local gardeners to participate in the Grow a Row program as it has participants only commit a single row or container plant to be donated to the food bank..
There are two key components to a working gleaning program: interested farmers and committed volunteers. Without dedicated farmers and volunteers, there would be no food to glean and no one to help harvest it..
Most farms in the Boulder and Broomfield area are smaller, producing on 10 acres or less. With their smaller operation size, they also have smaller staff sizes. These farms find it difficult to donate as they do not have the means to deliver the produce they have after markets or when they have excess..
During the 2017 season, 150 volunteers dedicated 6,000 hours of service to the Garden Share programs. This was an increase of 40 volunteers and almost 1,500 hours from the previous year when the VISTA was not present. In 2018, 300 volunteers worked with Garden Share through Earth’s Table, events, and gleaning. They dedicated nearly 6,000 hours of their time..
Community Food Share is a food bank fighting hunger in Boulder and Broomfield Counties by providing access to fresh, nutritious food through local partners and its onsite and mobile pantries.
These are the most successful marketing strategies used by the Garden Share program at Community Food Share: • Word of mouth was one of the most successful ways to get volunteers into the Garden Share programs. Volunteers that were already part of Community Food Share’s work were interested in how to get involved in other ways..
Donor Relations Outreach to donors began in the winter of 2016/2017 when the first VISTA arrived. An Excel file was created that included all local farms, their contact information, types of produce they grow, and an indication of if they were a new or returning…
Teaching healthy eating to our clients promotes nutrition as well as knowing where our food comes from. Encouraging community members to make their own food and learn new skills gives them the opportunity to take control of their health and wellbeing. The year two VISTA was able to work with cooking and nutrition through the “demo kit” project. There were community members and clients of the CAC who came into the community kitchen at the CAC to test their recipes and teach them to other community members during food bank distribution in the same building..