GROWING FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE

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rhines81
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GROWING FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE

#1

Post: # 41695Unread post rhines81
Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:42 pm

I'm reserving this thread to discuss how to get FRESH produce to people that are in need. While there are a lot of Government programs to help the needy, food banks and shelters pretty much fail in providing fresh from the garden items for people to use at home. In the past, I have always had extra produce, mainly because I did not plan for a large burst of ripe vegetables and fruits happening all at once. I generally give out extras to friends (who can afford to buy retail at Farmer's Markets). They glady accept it, but I think morally, I should give this to people who it would really benefit. I need to get better at planning staggered plantings on those items that can be staggered several times throughout the growing season.
Anyhow, I am in the initial planning stages to expand and grow food for this cause.

I've discussed my concept with a few friends who are also guilty, like me, of just giving away extras to friends/family who can otherwise easily afford to buy their own. They loved the idea.
One of my friends is always growing waaaay too many zucchini and I would say 30% of it is never harvested. Another one grows too many cantaloupe and watermelons, and many are left to rot on the vines. I have another friend that I haven't spoken to yet, who gave away a ton of things (garlic, tomotoes, peppers, onions, etc...) to friends last year.

My concept is not ME doing all of the work, but to enlist some of my friends who already grow way too much, to volunteer some of their harvest too. I don't think I can do it all myself without better planning, but I do have 8-1/2 acres zoned for agriculture, I have water, I have a tractor (I hope to get a rotary tiller for it by April, if not, I have a buddy down the road that has one and has offered to plow some plots for me). I'm networking where I can.

Starting off with the basics, there is a long list of what people would need.
Beans & Peas, Corn, Tomatoes, Peppers, Lettuce, Carrots, Cucumber, Cabbage, Onion, Squash, Melons and maybe some egg plant. Staggered planting and a short growing season for me will be the biggest challenge so as not to become overrun at once with too much and then nothing after that.

I have already identified 4 families in my area which would really benefit from receiving fresh produce for free, my goal for 2021 is to identify 10 families for my first year. Growing for 10 families is no small task when you are trying to provide a variety of produce.

I'm also looking at various ways to distribute and considering having them come to me, handing them 4 boxes and telling them to help themselves every Saturday or Sunday during harvest season (my personal plots which would be smaller would be in another area). Some of the families, I may have to pick a few boxes each week and drop off myself. Some of these people are needy due to handicaps and do not receive enough assistance for whatever reason.

THERE WILL BE MORE TO COME ON MY PROGRESS. Meanwhile, anyone that has growing ideas (particular varieties, etc.) to save on space and labor will be well received. I do know that staggered planting is a must, but with our short season it makes it a bit more tactical with the planning.

HenriSportif
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Re: GROWING FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE

#2

Post: # 41706Unread post HenriSportif
Tue Feb 23, 2021 7:13 am

Good luck with your efforts! We have tried to give as well but no one wants to deal with the fresh food - it's amazing! I don't know if it's more of a logistics and storage issue or something to do with insurance and liability. The groups here only want cans and boxed foods.

While friends and work associates will gladly accept food and plants, even they won't come and get it - we end up taking it to them. I wonder how many people who cook with fresh produce already keep a garden, and those that don't, don't quite know what to do with what they're given? But eating fresh food is something that anyone can benefit from, and getting it to those in need is a problem worth addressing. I'm glad to hear you're giving it a go! Let us know how it progresses and maybe others will chime in with things that have worked for them.
~Bee

This then is life - How curious! How real! Underfoot, the divine soil - Overhead, the sun.

OhioGardener
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Re: GROWING FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE

#3

Post: # 41722Unread post OhioGardener
Tue Feb 23, 2021 1:26 pm

rhines81 wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:42 pm I'm reserving this thread to discuss how to get FRESH produce to people that are in need.
Neat idea. Have you considered setting it up like an open-pollinated seed bank where some of your surplus veggies are isolated and grown for seed donations rather than food? I'd like to find and donate to a project in my area that helps teach gardening with free seeds, including small space techniques for people with disabilities or small yards who may have never grown anything before. I myself have been struggling with bad knees that affect my ability to work like I used to, but can still grow a ton of healthy produce in containers and a few accessible areas. I like the idea of helping people take control of and improve their own situations, especially if being able to afford seeds is what's keeping them from getting started.
Debbie

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Cole_Robbie
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Re: GROWING FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE

#4

Post: # 41734Unread post Cole_Robbie
Tue Feb 23, 2021 6:10 pm

I applaud your noble ambitions. It all involves a lot of labor, which needs to come from somewhere. Most people are not going to want to work outdoors in the hot sun to get food when the government will buy food for them through the food stamp program. It is unfortunately a rare individual who appreciates fresh food that much. And many people who think they would do that work don't end up lasting very long, which I have seen a lot on my own family's farm.

I would consider the idea of a business minded co op more than a charity. I don't know that people will work in a field just to get food, but it is a different story if they could make a few bucks, maybe by reselling some of what they pick. I think labor will be your biggest challenge and if you could incentivize so that you had all the labor you needed, your operation would be a great success. Good luck with everything.

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rhines81
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Re: GROWING FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE

#5

Post: # 41735Unread post rhines81
Tue Feb 23, 2021 6:29 pm

OhioGardener wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 1:26 pm
rhines81 wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:42 pm I'm reserving this thread to discuss how to get FRESH produce to people that are in need.
Neat idea. Have you considered setting it up like an open-pollinated seed bank where some of your surplus veggies are isolated and grown for seed donations rather than food? I'd like to find and donate to a project in my area that helps teach gardening with free seeds, including small space techniques for people with disabilities or small yards who may have never grown anything before. I myself have been struggling with bad knees that affect my ability to work like I used to, but can still grow a ton of healthy produce in containers and a few accessible areas. I like the idea of helping people take control of and improve their own situations, especially if being able to afford seeds is what's keeping them from getting started.
I'm thinking it is really not the cost of seeds that prevent most people from growing as you describe, it's the cost of containers, soil and then actually doing 100% of the labor (which some cannot). For me to save seed and package that and distribute it, plus teach people how to garden... would demand a lot of time from me. It would be good to ask for help from some of the recipients if they were interested they could help me care and maintain the garden. Maybe some will be willing, I don't know, but they could learn and work at the same time.

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rhines81
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Re: GROWING FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE

#6

Post: # 41736Unread post rhines81
Tue Feb 23, 2021 6:38 pm

Cole_Robbie wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 6:10 pm I applaud your noble ambitions. It all involves a lot of labor, which needs to come from somewhere. Most people are not going to want to work outdoors in the hot sun to get food when the government will buy food for them through the food stamp program. It is unfortunately a rare individual who appreciates fresh food that much. And many people who think they would do that work don't end up lasting very long, which I have seen a lot on my own family's farm.

I would consider the idea of a business minded co op more than a charity. I don't know that people will work in a field just to get food, but it is a different story if they could make a few bucks, maybe by reselling some of what they pick. I think labor will be your biggest challenge and if you could incentivize so that you had all the labor you needed, your operation would be a great success. Good luck with everything.
In the past I have considered a community garden venture and will continue to look at something like that. My biggest issue with trying to cater to something like that is access, security, liability insurances, etc. I know something like that could be profitable (or at least break-even) to me, but at the same time I could ask that part of the community to donate part of their crops to the cause. The less labor I have to do, I think the longer I could sustain doing it and perhaps increase beyond 10 families.

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Nan6b
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Re: GROWING FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE

#7

Post: # 41738Unread post Nan6b
Tue Feb 23, 2021 6:53 pm

There are some things here in the Pittsburgh area that work to get produce or other food to people.

A.) 412 Food Rescue- these folks go & get good food that's going to be thrown out. At the end of the day at a restaurant, for example, there may be a lot of things that must be thrown out but are still good to eat. 412FR gets the food into the hands of the needy. The vast majority of the food they collect is fresh. Two of their many programs are a.) "Ugly CSA" where folks receive boxes of less-than-perfect produce, and b.) Gleaning- where volunteers go out and harvest unharvested produce (with permission). Their website might give some ideas: https://412foodrescue.org/

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Re: GROWING FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE

#8

Post: # 41739Unread post Nan6b
Tue Feb 23, 2021 7:09 pm

More ideas:
B.) Food banks here seem willing to take my produce if I bring it in the day it's due to be distributed, slightly prior to the start of distribution.

C.) in the back of lots of churches there's that vestibule where people come in. It's called a Narthex. At harvest time, people at my church bring in their produce to share with everybody. It creates goodwill and fosters fellowship at church. Or if you don't have hungry members at your church, or if you don't have a church, I think you could contact any church (maybe in a poor section of town) and ask them if you can put produce in their Narthex for their congregation (weekly, or on such and such a date, and ask what time would be best).

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Re: GROWING FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE

#9

Post: # 41744Unread post Uncle_Feist
Tue Feb 23, 2021 8:09 pm

I used to let less fortunate people come in and glean my crops after harvest, but they always ended up in the crops ready to harvest. I tried and tried to be good to people for years, but unfortunately it had to change. When I would catch them picking off limits crops, and loading the vehicle down, the first words out of their mouths was always:
"there's no way you can use all of this"

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Re: GROWING FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE

#10

Post: # 41766Unread post worth1
Wed Feb 24, 2021 6:00 am

We always let good friends pick in our garden.
One was my second grade school teacher that didn't have a place to raise a garden.
That school teacher came to my graduation from high school.
Other folks in the area would trade crops with us.
Some would grow one thing and others something else.
Not everyone but a select few.
One year I went around putting cucumbers on people's door steps.
They knew it was from me.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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Re: GROWING FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE

#11

Post: # 41783Unread post FarmerShawn
Wed Feb 24, 2021 11:44 am

In our area we have a gleaning organization that collects food and distributes it among food banks, nursing homes, schools, and so forth. They will arrange a group to show up at your place and harvest excess if that's needed, but my involvement is more that they come around at the end of Farmers Market and collect unsold, leftover produce to distribute. Or, I bring stuff to a local foods store, and unsold stuff nearing expiration dates gets automatically gleaned. The store and the gleaning program are both run under the same umbrella organization, so the coordination is pretty seamless. I like this setup, because it doesn't really require any extra effort or attention on my part to participate, aside from growing the stuff to begin with. And they will take stuff from home gardeners as well as market gardeners.

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#12

Post: # 41802Unread post Nan6b
Wed Feb 24, 2021 2:15 pm

That's great, Farmer Shawn! Sounds like your neck of the woods s doing it right. Is the organization national? Or anywhere other than your local area? Trying to find these organizations to get us in touch with them.

I found another, national food rescue with offices in various places. At this link, scroll down on the map to find if there's an office near you:
https://foodrescue.us/

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#13

Post: # 41833Unread post FarmerShawn
Wed Feb 24, 2021 11:24 pm

Nan6b wrote: Wed Feb 24, 2021 2:15 pm That's great, Farmer Shawn! Sounds like your neck of the woods s doing it right. Is the organization national? Or anywhere other than your local area? Trying to find these organizations to get us in touch with them.

I found another, national food rescue with offices in various places. At this link, scroll down on the map to find if there's an office near you:
https://foodrescue.us/
To be honest, I'm not sure if it's local or regional. It's called Taproot, and I'm sure a search for that name in NH will get info on the outfit.

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Nan6b
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Post: # 41837Unread post Nan6b
Thu Feb 25, 2021 1:33 am

Taproot looks to be based out of a farm, but working regionally. They say in addition to their other programs, "We also support many regional farms in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Quebec, Canada."

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rhines81
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#15

Post: # 45617Unread post rhines81
Sun Apr 25, 2021 8:50 pm

Lost the link to this site and searched it out again (bookmarked it now). I am still moving along with my plans. We (me and friends) have really only identified 5 families, but we know there is more around here that really need some help with fresh produce and other things. I started to supply some of these families with some fresh eggs, then along came this damn 400# bear that decided to tip over my coops and eat all of my chickens. It happened about two weeks apart, with one coop going down first and then I started saving eggs from the other coop to hatch (only 3 viable eggs in the incubator now) before the bear came back and shredded up the 2nd coop. I'll need to buy some more chicks and come up with a better bear-proofing system. Anyhow, I have 36 tomato plants started, 108 pea plants will be ground tomorrow (will plant double that in a month or two for later harvest) with a half a zillion lettuce plants. I've nixed the onion and carrot idea, too much work, too much space. Beans are coming, but need the soil to warm up. I probably won't do a large corn patch, but still a possibility. Spinach and cabbage will be planted soon along with some other mid-Spring things (we had snow a couple of days ago still). I'll have tons of different pepper varieties, but basically only growing additional Bell and Jalapeno for donation. Keeping it simple at first to see how it turns out. Buddies are very willing to donate Zucchini, Cucumber, Garlic and other items that they always grow too much of. I think we'll be just fine with these 5 families for this year and then fine tune it and grow from there.

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rhines81
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#16

Post: # 45619Unread post rhines81
Sun Apr 25, 2021 9:18 pm

I have found this experience so far to be eye-opening. It is tough to give away free food. The needy are very picky as well. 100% will take my eggs. 50% hate onions, carrots, cabbage, etc. Only one family wants zucchini. Only 3 out of 5 want peas. Etc... I am not about to be a custom grower to suit peoples wants and needs. 100% do like tomatoes, in one form or another. 75% like corn, but it usually ripens all at once and then done in this area. Most only used an onion or two per week. It's tough to figure this out. Some like green beans, others liked kidney or black beans, but did not want the hassle to soak them, etc... Again, It is tough to give away free food.

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Re: GROWING FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE

#17

Post: # 45620Unread post worth1
Sun Apr 25, 2021 9:24 pm

If they are choosy they aren't hungry enough.
I hate pizza for the most part but I'll eat it in a snap if I'm hungry.
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You might as well be arguing with a cat.

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Re: GROWING FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE

#18

Post: # 45643Unread post Sue_CT
Mon Apr 26, 2021 2:08 pm

First person I have ever heard of who hates pizza, lol. If you naturally really dislike something, being hungry does not change that. You might choke it down so that you don't die of starvation, but I doubt most of the people in need that he is talking about have reached that level of desperation. Kids can be challanging and don't take the family budget into consideration when refusing to eat something. So cooking with onions does not make sense if your kids refuse to eat the food after. I am surprised by how many people hate onions. If you are someone who likes most things you might consider them "picky". But if there is even one thing you really hate, think about being judged as just "picky" if you didn't welcome it when it was given to you. I you offered me free liver I would probably go out and eat grass before I took you up on it. I enjoy most fruits and veggies, but I don't start to appreciate something I really hate just because it is free. They would probably just eat less healthy things, like pasta, that are more palatable. Google how to get kids to eat veggies and you will see this far from a rare problem. For a family that has never had fresh veggies available, might not know how to prepare them well, and is not used to eating them, they might be reluctant to take what they are not famliar with or used to eating. I know adults that have never accepting veggies and might only eat a couple if any. So maybe the way to go is simply to find out which items are the most widely accepted and focus on those and not trying to cater to particular families. What they don't want, the local food kitchen or shelter might gladly accept.

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Nan6b
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Re: GROWING FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE

#19

Post: # 45653Unread post Nan6b
Mon Apr 26, 2021 5:23 pm

Is there some way to let people select what they want?

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