Programs and Impact
According to the Washington State Department of Agriculture’s Food Assistance Programs, 1.15 million Washingtonians received food from hunger relief programs last year. More than 60% of those receiving help were children and seniors.
Harvest Against Hunger uses a broad mix of initiatives and collaborations to develop and support programs that divert food waste and increase the amount of healthy produce available to those in need.
To do this, we build program models that work on all levels – from 40,000 pound truckloads of fresh produce through our core work, to hundreds of pounds of locally-sourced produce through our Harvest VISTA program, to developing better food systems through our Farm to Food Pantry and King County Farmers Share initiatives. We use our unique position to support food pantries and meal programs that represent the final — and most important — step in the process of food rescue and hunger relief.
We continue to lead in the development of effective and lasting programs and partnerships that move millions of pounds of healthy produce every year from potential waste to healthy servings.
Core Work:
Step 1: Large-scale donations of slightly blemished or imperfect produce are located from generous farms and packing houses.
Step 2: Trucking companies donate space in trucks returning empty from deliveries to move loads to our hunger relief partners
Step 3: Hunger distribution warehouses and food pantries receive bulk loads and repack the produce for distribution to local food pantries.
Connecting Small Farms to Food Banks:
Harvest VISTA: We place AmeriCorps members and Summer Associates with hunger relief and other partner programs to build and develop gleaning and produce recovery models. Learn more here.
Farm to Food Pantry: In partnership with the WA State Department of Agriculture, F2FP creates contracted wholesale relationships between food pantries and local small-scale farmers. Learn more here.
King County Farmers Share: Based on the Farm to Food Pantry model, we’re connecting farmers and food banks across King County to bring fresh fruits and vegetables directly into more than 20 sites. Learn more here.