How can I get involved in food rescue?
- Gleaning: You can sign up to glean produce. From July to October, Hollins farm offers Food for Others volunteers the opportunity to rescue fallen produce from their orchards.
- Farmers Market: Sign up to rescue food from local farm vendors at the end of the farmers market.
- Grocery Stores: Become a grocery store volunteer, and sign up for a shift picking up and delivering a donation to Food for Others from a local grocery store.
Food Recovery
34% of the food Food for Others distributed in FY 2022 was recovered. That’s 1,256,886 lbs of food.
Food for Others primarily rescues food from three sources: grocery stores, farmers markets, and farms. These donors receive a tax break to thank them for their generous support.
Food rescued from local grocery stores would often have been thrown out due to overstocking or an upcoming “sell date.” At the conclusion of farmers markets, incredible Food for Others volunteers will collect donations of unsold produce. Lastly, to collect fresh produce for our clients volunteers and staff make trips to local farms to recover produce that has fallen on the ground, is on broken branches, or would not sell in stores due to unrealistic standards of beauty.
Community Gardens
Food for Others supports three community gardens, Daniels Run, Bo White, and Peace Lutheran. The first of which, Peace Luthern Gardens, was founded in 2017. Food for Others collaborates with local organizations and volunteers to help maintain the gardens.
Our Food Resource Coordinator plays an important role in coordinating our work with the gardens.
Rx for Food
Food for Others joined forces with Burke Pediatrics, several county offices and the Capital Area Food Bank in early 2017 to start the Rx for Food program after The American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that pediatricians screen families for food insecurity using the Hunger Vital Sign toolkit. Through the Rx for Food program, doctors screen their patients for food insecurity and refer them to Food for Others with a prescription for food.