Salvation Farming

[cali]

In one of the counties here, someone came up with the idea to wed the ancient practice of gleaning to the local foodbank. The idea is simple, after the farmer harvests the fields, volunteers from the food bank harvest what remains and makes it available to food bank clients. Over the past three years, 88,000 pounds of fresh produce were harvested and distributed, most of it from organic vegetable farms.

An enormous amount of food simply gets tilled under. This seems like a creative and useful solution.

[newfie11]

1. That's done here with potatoes

[SpiralHawk]

2. what state and county, Cali?

A link? Any specifics?

Thanks, SH

[cali]

4. I heard it on VPR. Here's Salvation Farms website:

Salvation Farms is a cost free resource available to farmers and food sites, providing volunteer crews for salvaging farm surplus and arranging storage and distribution of fresh food donations. Salvation Farms considers “Vermonters in need” to include those who are food insecure and/or nutritionally insecure.
Donation recipients consist of local emergency food sites, educational and care giving institutions, retirement communities, non-profits, and the Vermont Foodbank.

During the summer of 2004, a side project created at Pete’s Greens organic farm in Craftsbury would ultimately become the pilot year and inspiration for Salvation Farms. In 2005 Salvation Farms was created to serve the Lamoille Valley area. Over the following three years our gleanings totaled over 88,000 pound.
Salvation Farms strives to create a model that can be implemented and maintained by any community. This will remedy the lack of fresh produce available at food sites serving the nutritionally and food insecure in Vermont. The future of local fresh food recovery depends on the level of interest across Vermont and collaboration of organizations and individuals at the community level.

Refinements to the Salvation Farms’ project continue, increasing the efficiency and adaptability of this fresh food recovery project. Salvation Farms is currently in the process of becoming an official program of the Vermont Foodbank. We are very excited about this development as it offers project sustainability, as well as a way to increase Vermont’s food security. As we sharpen our skills our hope is to show, with determination, that gleaning is a reality for Vermont communities as we all move toward a more sustainable future.



The Vermont Foodbank is creating a manual for community-based gleaning and to promote involvement in the Salvation Farms’ Gleaning Network. This manual is intended to educate, guide, and facilitate gleaning on a community scale with assistance from the Vermont Foodbank. The manual will be available for interested individuals or community groups by June 2008. Updates would be sent out as its contents are altered due to revisions, legislation, and/or trial and error.
The Program Director of Agricultural Resources is responsible for assessing gleaning needs throughout the state and assisting new gleaning groups. Community gleaning progress will be monitored identifying concerns or issues at the state network level. Field Coordinators will be recruited and responsible for overseeing local gleaning groups as well as reporting gleaning, distribution, and volunteer reports. The Salvation Farms’ Gleaning Network will be sustained if the communities are strong enough to work together to secure the resources that they and their neighbors need.

~ Many hands make light work ~
Salvation Farms was established in Jan. 05 by Jen O’Donnell and Theresa Snow and was fiscally sponsored by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont.

Thanks for visiting our home page. Please stay as long as you’d like. Salvation Farms encourages all citizens to do what they can to ensure their community is receiving all that it needs.


Are You Interested in:

• Volunteering?

• Being a Field Coordinator?

• Being served by Salvation Farms?

• Financially Supporting Vermont’s Gleaning Network?

Please Contact Us!

Salvation Farms’ Gleaning Network
Vermont FoodBank
PO Box 254
South Barre, VT 05670

www.vtfoodbank.org

802-477-4114
[e-mail]
Theresa Snow
Program Director of Agricultural Resources


Salvation Farms’ Gleaning Network
Harvesting excess farm produce while establishing a state-wide, local/community links between farms and Vermonters in need through the network partners of the Vermont Foodbank while providing a service and a viable business solution to Vermont farmers.


Please send Tax-Deductible Donations, payable to:

Vermont Foodbank
Attn: Salvation Farms Support
PO Box 254
South Barre, VT 05670

http://www.salvationfarms.org/

[SpiralHawk]

7. Thank you, Cali

Very innovative -- and a model other areas can follow.

With appreciation, SH

[ColbertWatcher]

3. K & R. n/t

[JoDog]

5. A good (and old) idea

[cali]

6. It is indeed an ancient idea

simply updated. Lamoille County has only 25,0000 residents. This means that every family in need got quite a bit of fresh, organic produce. and with the costs of produce what they are, this is a good thing.

[SpiralHawk]

8. The Gleaners - by Jean-Francois Millet