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.
Another method for Urban Abundance to adapt to the pandemic was developing an entirely online harvest program.
A major economic advantage for a farm to enter into a purchasing contract with a hunger relief organization (HRO)–food bank or meals program–is that a HRO provides a more flexible market than traditional wholesalers (e.g. hospitals, schools, grocers).
After beginning a relationship with a small local farm, it is recommended that a hunger relief organization (HRO) spend some time to develop messaging and outreach materials to thank the partner farm for their hard work and contributions to the HRO and local food access.
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…
Recipes, Nutrition, and Food Culture Do you ever think about how to build a healthy food culture with your food bank customers? One way for customers to share and create culture is through exchanging recipes with each other that utilize ingredients sourced from the food…
Vashon has a thriving gardening community that is also committed to food justice and equity for all. Gardeners all over the island are ready to grow produce for the food bank can increase food security for themselves and their neighbors.
Sorting and packing gleaned produce is a crucial part of produce recovery and an important off-farm volunteer task.
The majority of Boston Area Gleaners’ volunteer work is gleaning row crops in farmers’ fields. When managing groups in the field, the main priorities are ensuring that everyone is informed and engaged, maintaining the safety of volunteers and the land, and keeping the task running as efficiently as possible to maximize the harvest.
Partnerships with agricultural donors are all about personal relationship building and trust.