2.4 million pounds and counting: How sending surplus crops to food banks is helping Washington farmers and hungry families

A food-relief initiative in Brattleboro, Vermont is helping connect people facing food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic with free meals that are provided by local restaurants. The initiative – which also requires that the restaurants source 10% of the food from local farms – has already provided nearly 12,000 meals to local residents.

For environmental organization GrowNYC, their one-acre teaching farm on Governor’s Island became a victory garden for New Yorkers who aren’t having their basic needs met during the COVID-19 pandemic. While future land development on the island could impact their work, the farm is on track to produce about 20,000 pounds of food that is distributed by other groups like the Black Feminist Project as free or low-cost coronavirus relief food boxes.

The Do-Good Auto Coalition in northern New Jersey is recruiting car dealerships and automakers to help shuttle supplies and food to people experiencing economic hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic. The closing of restaurants, schools, and other businesses has created a disconnect in the food supply chain, with fresh produce stuck on farms with no easy way to get it to consumers. While there’s no quick fix to reduce food waste, the organization is hopeful they can bridge the gap between farmers and people who can’t meet their basic needs.

The RVA Community Fridges addresses the issue of food insecurity by setting up household or industrial refrigerators outside of a host business, like a restaurant, non-profit or church. Anyone can swing by a fridge and take whatever they need or leave whatever they can. To fill the fridges, community members, local businesses, and other organizations donate purchased or cooked food.

A third of food produced, or about 1.3 million metric tons per year, goes to waste. The city of Milan is a pioneer in eliminating food waste. The city launched food waste hubs in 2019. Donations from supermarkets supply the hubs with food that are then donated to families in need. The three hubs save about 130 metric tons of food per year, eliminating the production of 497 metric tons of CO2.

As the COVID-19 pandemic hit and grocery store shelves became bare, many consumers sought to purchase meat directly from farmers. The Shop Kansas Farms group on Facebook has more than 148,000 members with about 800 producers who are selling their goods. While there needs to be more education for farmers on how to sell their livestock and for consumers on the intricacies of buying from processors, people in other states are creating their own groups to better connect consumers to vendors.

A new initiative from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is helping connect farmers with those who are facing food insecurity during the coronavirus pandemic. The program, known as Farmers to Families, allocates monetary contracts to companies that go towards distributing boxes of produce to families. In South Carolina, one farm has been able to distribute over 5.2 million pounds of food throughout the southeast region of the state.

To ensure that Black communities have access to healthy food, three people in Los Angeles are taking different approaches to promote food security and food sovereignty. As part of Feed Black Futures, Ali Anderson packs nearly 100 boxes a week of fruits and vegetables to deliver to Black women and caregivers who have been impacted by incarceration. Artist Lauren Halsey and her Summaeverythang Community Center deliver up to 1,000 boxes a week of free organic produce. Chef Kat Williams is also making sure Black people of the LGBT community have access to healthy meals.

As the spread of COVID-19 forced residents of Bengaluru into lockdown, farmers had to get creative to sell their goods and turned to social media channels to directly connect to consumers. For example, the Farm to Fork Bangalore Facebook page allowed a grape grower to sell about 400 kilograms of his crops that otherwise would have gone to waste. While direct-selling can be challenging for those who are not in urban centers, many farmers are rethinking their business models.

When restaurants and farmers markers shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hearts of Harvest Farm teamed up with the drive-thru restaurant Cafe Racer to sell their produce to people in the Athens/Atlanta area. They created a socially distanced, drive-thru grocery experience where customers would preorder their produce boxes online and pick them up without having to leave their vehicle. The first week, they sold 97 boxes and now they are selling out each week.