The Farm to Family Program from the California Association of Food Banks helps the state’s farmers donate surplus produce to families in need. AgNet West’s Sabrina Hill talks with Sue Sigler, Executive Director of the California Association of Food Banks to get details on the program.
Sue Sigler, CAFB, on the Farm to Family program
From the California Association of Food Banks Website:
Farm to Family bridges the gap between our state’s surplus produce and people in need. Started in the late 1990s by San Francisco Food Bank volunteer Gary Maxworthy, Farm to Family has become the nation’s leading produce recovery program.
Today, Farm to Family is a statewide program operated by the California Association of Food Banks. CAFB recruits farmers and arranges to ship their surplus produce directly from the fields to our 42 member food banks across the state. The food banks then distribute the produce through a network of 5,000 schools, churches, senior centers, soup kitchens and other community venues. (See how it works.)
The result is that 140 million pounds of fresh produce that would have been plowed under or sent to landfills is instead being distributed to low-income households to provide nutritious meals.