Connecting Farms, Food Banks and Volunteers
for Statewide Hunger Relief

Harvest Against Hunger builds and supports relationships between stakeholders to increase the amount of healthy fresh produce that goes to feed hungry people. We work with farmers, community organizations, volunteer groups, food banks and government agencies to accomplish this goal.

HAH draws on the vast agricultural and volunteer resources of Washington State to provide fresh, healthy food for those in need. For 2010-11 10 AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteers are placed at host sites across the state to work on gleaning programs, community gardens, and food recovery. In Olympia volunteers glean vegetables, tree fruits, and other produce from local farms and gardens which is then transported to neighboring food banks and given to hungry families and individuals. In Okanogan the community action agency is building a gardening and gleaning program to increase access to fresh produce. Each HAH partner works in unique ways to support our common goals.

Why it's needed

Despite the unprecedented need for emergency food aid, millions of pounds of produce still remain unharvested due to superficial damage and other factors. Prohibitive costs may keep growers from harvesting, packing, and transporting this surplus, unmarketable produce. HAH seeks to prevent this waste by creating sustainable connections between farms and their local food banks.

When a grower has surplus or cosmetically damaged unharvested produce, they can contact the Harvest Against Hunger VISTA member in the area. The VISTA member will work with the local food bank and community groups to organize volunteer gleaners to harvest and transport this nutritious produce to the nearest food bank.

The Results in Numbers

In 2009-10, the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided funding for eight AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteers to work on the HAH program across Washington State. The program captured one million pounds (that's 25 semi-truckloads!) of produce, worked with 255 new agricultural donors, and served over 1/2 million food bank clients (that's enough to fill 8 football stadiums!). All of this was made possible by 2,100 hard working volunteers.