As the farm membership has grown over the past decade so has the quantity of food we have been able to donate.  This time of year is particularly exciting because the amount of gleaning and donating is increasing with the bountiful harvest.  This month the Vermont FoodBank has come out to harvest extra head lettuce and spinach. We are excited that the Intervale Center is beginning their free CSA in July so they will be starting to glean and pick up extra produce next week.  

We have been working with Tim and Linda Looney who coordinate a free Sunday night dinner at the First United Methodist Church.  Tim picks up a selection of extra veggies from us every Friday to incorporate into their meals.

This winter a group of medical students from UVM reached out to us for their Here to Help Clinic.  They work with community members and the UVM Larner College of Medicine to provide free haircuts, showers, food and help access other resources for the homeless population.  They run this clinic once a month and have been stopping by the farm to get fresh produce.

In addition we have been continuing to work with the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf.  It’s really great this time of year when we are super busy they are able to come to the farm and pick up produce directly from us.  At the end of Winter Share we donated our last couple hundred pounds of sweet potatoes and onions to the Food Shelf. Lately we’ve been having them come by the farm most Tuesdays so that we can clear out any leftovers from pick-up that won’t keep for long and they can distribute to people in need or incorporate into meals right away.

For the last couple of years we've relied on members to help with the ICF gleaning for our donation efforts.   Generally we are gleaning on Tuesday mornings and Friday afternoons. If you want to volunteer, contact  Aly Martelle. You can also sign up to be notified of gleaning events and news by subscribing to our Gleaning List here.