Ag Against Hunger is a non-profit organization based in
Salinas, California that collects surplus produce from
Monterey
Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bot ...
,
San Benito and
Santa Cruz County growers on the central coast of
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. This fresh produce is then distributed to
food bank
A food bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distribute food direct ...
s throughout the
west coast of the United States
The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...
.
Ag Against Hunger was the brainchild of Jess Brown, Executive Director of th
Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau Willy Elliott-McCrae, Executive Director o
Second Harvest Food Bankand Tim Driscoll o
Driscoll Strawberry Associates In 1990 they developed a system to distribute the abundance of surplus crops grown in the tri-county area to the hungry. Their simple solution has become a model for produce recovery and distribution programs.
Ag Against Hunger's trucks collect produce from approximately 50 different growers and shippers in the tri-county area. It is then distributed to food banks that make the fresh produce donations available to more than 240 nonprofit human service agencies and feeds 75,000 low-income people in the tri-county area each month and hundreds of thousands more throughout California and the West Coast.
When local food banks are satisfied, Ag Against Hunger provide
California Emergency Foodlink a statewide food distribution program, fresh produce which is distributed to over 50 food banks and community pantries in other parts of the state. After state organizations receive all the produce they needed, Ag Against Hunger works with food organizations in Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and Utah to feed people throughout the West Coast.
Gleaning
After harvest, there is an abundance of high quality, marketable produce left in the fields which cannot be harvested economically or does not meet commercial standards. Typically, it is tilled under in preparation for planting new crops. Ag Against Hunger’s
gleaning
Gleaning is the act of collecting leftover crops from farmers' fields after they have been commercially harvested or on fields where it is not economically profitable to harvest. It is a practice described in the Hebrew Bible that became a legall ...
program coordinates the picking of crops left behind after commercial harvest and the donation of the food. In 2006, volunteers harvested over 55,000 pounds of produce that would have otherwise been disked underground.
See also
{{portal, Food
*
List of food banks This is a list of notable food banks. A food bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchen
A ...
External links
Official website*Harry Cline
Ag Against Hunger provides fresh produce for needy July 5, 2005, Western Farm Press. Retrieved 12 September 2007.
Food banks in California
Non-profit organizations based in California
Agricultural organizations based in the United States