Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes the community’s farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risk and benefits of food production.
The Green Urban Lunch Box’s (GULB) FruitShare program is a unique program that partners with fruit tree homeowners and community volunteers to harvest and distribute fruit that would otherwise go to waste. The harvested fruit is divided up between the tree owner, the volunteers who harvested it, and local hunger relief.
Coordinating Weekly Deliveries of Fresh Produce for Seniors in Need The global pandemic of COVID-19 disproportionately affected marginalized populations such as the elderly and refugees. In collaboration with Food Innovation Network (FIN), the IRC Year 2 VISTA coordinated the delivery of 50 bags of fresh…
Sorting and packing gleaned produce is a crucial part of produce recovery and an important off-farm volunteer task.
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..
Engaging the community in gardening, cooking and nutrition education has been about continuing the dialogue with key community stakeholders and members from the Palouse Tables Project. Maintaining and engaging those relationships as well as cultivating new relationships are all key components of community engagement. Cultivating community engagement was a key component of the Community Educator Program..
Effective gleaning programs frequently run into this problem each harvest season: all of the apple, pear, or plum trees ripen at the same time, and an organization gets overwhelmed with more produce than clients can take. Here are some tips for making use of extra produce in order to reduce overall food waste in your community..
No matter what size a glean is, proper equipment makes the task go smoothly and facilitates proper transportation to keep produce in good shape. Supplies that are purchased new can be costly. Search local facebook pages, craigslist, garage sales, thrift stores, and farm sales for what your organization needs..
Some gleanings will have more lead time than others. In some cases, you may only have a day or two notice. It is always best to prepare as far in advance as possible, but be flexible when a gleaning is short notice..
U-Pick Farms are a uniquely engaging opportunity. These farms tend to be the most ‘user-friendly’, as they are by design to be harvested by folks of all ages and skill levels. U-Pick produce tends to be delicate crops like peaches, blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries..