IOWA CITY– Table to Table (T2T), a volunteer-based Iowa City organization rescuing and delivering half the food distributed to those in need in Johnson County, seeks farmers, gardeners and volunteers to power the second season of fresh produce recovery initiatives key to providing nutrient-dense food options to people in need in the area.
T2T kicked off two brand-new volunteer-based programs in 2020, Local Farm Gleaning and Home Garden Recovery, complementing the long-standing Farmers Market Rescue effort to gather donations of locally-grown produce for distribution throughout the Johnson County hunger relief network.
As much as ten percent of the food grown in the U.S. is left in the field due to grocery store visual standards or lack of consumer demand. This leaves the product without a market and the labor costs to harvest and distribute these crops may be insufficient for the return. At the same time, more than 12,000 Johnson County residents do not have enough money to cover basic food needs.
“In order to have enough produce each week for our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program and farmers markets, we are constantly planting, and we often plant a little bit more than we think we need. As a result, we sometimes have more produce than we can sell,” said Carly McAndrews, owner of Trowel and Error Farm, a 2020 T2T Gleaning Program partner. “Our biggest barrier to harvesting, washing, packing and donating this produce is time. Having gleaners come out to the farm to do this work eliminates this barrier and makes it so that we can get this high-quality produce out to the community. We are so grateful to the T2T gleaners for all of their hard work.”
T2T’s Gleaning Program harvests surplus produce left in farmers’ fields. T2T provides trained volunteers, materials to harvest produce and transportation to food recipient organizations so that farmers don’t incur labor costs. Likewise, farmers receive a tax credit for donating crops.
Local home gardeners are encouraged to drop off excess produce at the T2T office at 840 S Capitol Street in Iowa City between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. The fresh fruits and vegetables are delivered to Johnson County hunger relief partners through T2T’s Garden Recovery Program.
T2T’s Farmer’s Market Rescue Program collects any unsold produce or other product at the end of market. T2T partners with the Iowa City Farmers’ Market invites more partners to join the program.
With the help, T2T can work to ensure community members have access to nutrient-rich local foods and reclaim the potential of food otherwise left in the fields. For more information about fresh produce recovery initiatives or to get started as a farm partner or volunteer, email [email protected] or call 319-337-3400.