Representative Julio Robaina visits Farm Share

Representative Robaina Helps Hand Out Food to the Needy

The Bob Marley Movement 15th Annual Caribbean Festival 2008

Did you know that half of every crop harvested is thrown away?

If a farmer grows 100,000 pounds of tomatoes, usually about half of them (50,000 lbs) must be thrown away. This is because if a tomato is slightly misshapen, discolored, too small (or too big), or blemished in any way, it will not meet the consumer demand for a "perfect" tomato and will therefore be rejected. This is true for many fruit and vegetable crops. To prevent trucks of produce from being rejected, crops are "culled" (hand sorted) after they are picked. About half goes into the truck on its way to the store. The other half goes into the truck going to the dump, or destined to be plowed under and sprayed with insecticide. The food being thrown away is not rotten or bad in any way.

Culled Fresh Produce Looks and Tastes Great!

This problem is no one's "fault", and is certainly not the farmer's doing. No farmer enjoys throwing away half the fruits of his or her labor. However, day in and day out we end up feeding our landfills instead of our hungry. Thankfully, there is a solution to this dilemma. Instead of dumping, farmers donate this food to Farm Share!

Farm Share, using inmate labor and volunteers, re-sorts and packages this abundance of surplus food and distributes it to individuals, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, churches, and other organizations feeding the hungry in Florida at no charge.  This important distinction makes Farm Share critical to smaller agencies located in poorer rural areas that cannot afford to pay for food.  By tapping into this near limitless supply of donated produce, we keep our costs low, while providing fresh nutritious fruits and vegetables to the hunger distressed. However, the fact that we do not require the hands-on agencies to share the burden of our expenses makes Farm Share more reliant on donations from the community. If you do not help, we cannot help.

Millions of Americans suffer from hunger and malnutrition. As family income levels decrease, funds available for food diminish, resulting in nutrient-deficient diets. America's children and elderly are most severely affected by hunger and malnutrition. Farm Share is working to alleviate hunger and malnutrition by recovering and distributing fresh and nutritious foods to those who need it most. Farm Share provides food to hundreds of non-profit organizations that serve more than 7,000,000 meals monthly reaching more than 2,500,000 families each year. More than 15,000,000 pounds of fresh and nutritious fruits and vegetables are shipped each year to participating agencies throughout the Eastern seaboard. Farm Share also directly distributes food to more than 4,000 registered local households -- composed of migrant workers, single mothers, elderly, disabled and other low income recipients -- directly from our packing house. Very few organizations distribute to so many individuals and organizations.

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For every dollar donated, Farm Share distributes 11.5 pounds of nutritious food.

Think about that. If you donate $10, we will distribute 115 lbs of food to local churches, homeless shelters, and soup kitchens. Your donation (or your workplace/organization's donation) of $100 means more than a half ton of food goes to the hungry in our communities! It also keeps a half ton of good food from clogging our landfills as garbage. How much time, effort, and money would it take you to both collect and distribute a half ton of food and recycle a half ton of garbage so it doesn't go to the dump? Also, you are helping the farmers who get a tax credit for their donation of boxed produce and do not have to pay to dispose of the produce they donate. That's a lot of value.

The vast majority of culled produce is still being thrown away. Help us end hunger and prevent waste by making a generous donation to the cause. Still want to do more? Talk to your office or favorite social group about raising money to help recover food.

 

Non-Discrimination Policy
In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C., 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or 202-720-6382 (TTY). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.