I recently learned that my local community food bank does collection of residential-grown produce in the late winter. If you've got overladen grapefruit trees in #Tucson there's a place that wants them!
https://www.communityfoodbank.org/event/super-citrus-saturdays-march-14/
From Chapter 1: "Although Respecting Our Elders does wind up feeding very low-income folks, including some homeless, the main segment of our recipient base are . . . seniors who are seriously challenged to make their money stretch to just cover housing and medications . . . People are living in your area who for various reasons (out of work, outrageous medical expenses, or on disability), if they had access to this food for as long as they needed it, could make ends meet [&] start moving out of just surviving to being less stressed."
Food last week: organic & conventional: the avocado surfeit continued (bags of 'em), Romaine lettuces, Urban Remedy salads (maybe because of the cold weather?), the usual apples oranges bananas etc. & California caviar (white sturgeon) -- best before date had passed a couple days previously, but best before dates are conservative -- they were delicious!
https://www.amazon.com/Best-Solution-Hunger-America-All-Volunteer-ebook/dp/B0G4XJ86DP
"Everything we pick up is delivered right away. We don't store anything, so no warehouse is needed. . . . This model can be duplicated anywhere there's a grocery store and a willing community."
Last week's highlights: lots of plant-based roasts (turkey analogues), mostly Gardein and Field Roast brands, also cases of some kind of stuffed butternut squash roast. Many organic & conventional avocados (a friend says, "Yeah, the Mexico tariffs mean avocados got really expensive so people aren't buying them").
From the foreword: "Today, Respecting Our Elders is an all-volunteer nonprofit with no paid staff and an annual budget of just $25,000. Yet it distributes $4-5 million in food annually."
https://www.amazon.com/Best-Solution-Hunger-America-All-Volunteer-ebook/dp/B0G4XJ86DP?ref_=ast_author_mpb
Partial list of what I've seen, last 2 (ie, Christmas and New Year's) weeks (remember, the volunteers pick up food from grocery stores etc EVERY DAY except Christmas Day and I think Thanksgiving Day), so I only see a fraction:
Avocados. Fresh organic herbs (tarragon, basil, mint, marjoram). Organic mandarin oranges. Guavas, starfruit, papayas. Precut fruit trays. Lots of sushi (a friend says, "Lots of people want hot food in winter, but sushi's cold"). Fancy mushrooms in gorgeous condition (oyster, lion's mane, maitake, shitaake). Diestel brand turkeys, both cooked and raw. Candy canes, trays of stuffing, tubs of ready-made gravy. Eggs (free range & organic), milk, yogurt, ice cream, nondairy frozen treats.
1/2
Brand new book, The Best Solution to Hunger In America: How to Set Up and Run an All-Volunteer, Community Food Rescue Organization, written by the founders of local Marin County nonprofit Respecting Our Elders. One of my gigs is helping a disabled woman get food from this org, which picks up from Safeway, Whole Foods, restaurants like McDonalds -- there's so much good fucking food that would otherwise go into landfill (creating methane, which is a way more potent greenhouse gas than CO2). I've had this gig for 2 years and I'm still amazed at how much delicious food (often organic, Fair Trade, vegan, etc) these places get rid of every fucking day.
#Marin #MarinCounty #hunger #food #SNAP #volunteer #FoodRescue
Here's our #LifecyclesProjectSociety numbers for our 2025 season:
Total #harvest: 64,691lbs
Total (A-Grade) donated to 75+ service agencies though the #FoodShare Network: 32,883lbs.
Total kept by pickers and harvest leads: 14,245lbs.
Total kept by stewards: 4,460lbs.
Total used by Lifecycles for fruit processing & pressing: 7,240lbs.
Total compost (none to the landfill!): 5863lbs.
#WorkLife #Teamwork #LifecyclesProjectSociety #FoodSecurity #FruitProcessing #Esquimalt #VictoriaBC #YYJ #VancouverIsland #VanIsle #nonprofit #RescuedFruit #FoodRescue #FoodEquity #FeedingCommunity #FruitTreeProject #nonprofit
Oh wow.
Umm... the town's commission for sustainable initiatives has asked me to speak with their group regarding Free Fridges and Food Rescue...
This commission "advocates for a clean, healthy, and biodiverse urban environment, promotes a culture of sustainability in the city, advises City Council, and works with the City and community on projects, outreach, education, and innovation.
Well that's cool.
Guess I'll go do that, then.
"Kairos opened seven years ago and started with a free store where it fed 40 people a night with 300 scones. Now, the organisation rescues more than three tonnes of food from supermarkets, cafes and other suppliers every day, supporting 62 foodbanks and community groups."
Today's food rescue delivered to the free fridge.
jendefer
copharynx (was qoph@octodon)
Ms. Que Banh
Matt Noyes
Tinker ☀️
Marsden