When purchasing produce from farmers, a food bank acts like one large CSA customer or wholesale CSA customer. Securing grant funding is essential to support a farm to food bank purchasing system, and local food system programming is essential in the development of a secure food system in a community.
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.
Boston Area Gleaners relies on marketing and communications not only for garnering support but also for advocacy, community-building, and solidifying a local organizational identity.
• Extending gratitude for the farm’s commitment to reducing food waste and increasing food access
• Citing the total amount donated by partners, in pounds & servings, and telling a story of where the produce went—with testimonials from partner agencies
• A rundown of the donation totals for the particular farmer. This is an official tax document and must include key language and data. Annual copies of this documentation are saved in the shared “Operations” folder on the BAG server.
Partnerships with agricultural donors are all about personal relationship building and trust.
A successful gleaning program is largely dependent on the engagement of a base of committed and enthusiastic volunteers.
Site Information Website: bostonareagleaners.org Email Address: admin@bostonareagleaners .org Location: Stonefield Farm, 91 Martin Street, Acton, MA 01720 Image Credit: Michael Piazza Boston Area Gleaners Boston Area Gleaners (BAG) was founded in 2004 as a small group of volunteers committed to bridging a critical gap in…
Iskashitaa Refugee Network hosts monthly educational demonstrations at the Tucson Botanical Gardens on how to identify and use various edible landscapes found in Tucson. These tours are focused on increasing the community’s knowledge of local food resources, learning about the abundance of edible trees, both native and nonnative; their nutritional values, uses and cultural significance.
2020 brought many surprises to Iskashitaa Refugee Network, the most pleasant one being the enthusiasm and receptiveness to their programming at the University of Arizona community garden. IRN has had plots at this garden in the past, but this year was the first where there was such an overwhelming positive response from volunteers and refugees.