DID YOU KNOW....

• Over 96 billion pounds of food in America is wasted every year! (United States Department of Agriculture)

• Twenty percent of all produce grown in local and commercial agriculture is lost because it is aesthetically unmarketable!

• All the while, 738,000 Hoosiers do not regularly get enough to eat, 28% of those are children under the age of 18! (The Community Childhood Hunger Identification Project)

In an effort to bridge both the needs of farmers and food-insecure households, Hoosier Hills Food Bank is working with area farmers, along with the support of volunteers, to collect leftover crops from farmers’ fields.

There are 3 ways we obtain excess produce from local farms:

1. Pick up blemished, already-harvested produce that is not "perfect" enough to sell

2. Assist with general maintenance in the fields in exchange for donated produce

3. Glean excess produce left in the fields

Hoosier Hills Food Bank is working directly with Five Oaks Farm located in Jackson County. Each week, one or two carloads of volunteers travel to Five Oaks to assist with weeding, harvesting, and miscellaneous maintenance. In exchange, Five Oaks sends back with the HHFB volunteers bushels of delicious vegetables!

HHFB also picks up "second picks" from Strangers Hill Organics located just outside of Bloomington. After harvest, Strangers Hill separates the most sellable picks from the slightly blemished and donates the perfectly edible produce to us!

If you are a farmer and interested in partnering with Hoosier Hills Food Bank, give us a call at 334-8374. Tomatoes, zucchini, squash, okra, peaches, apples, salad greens, green beans, we'll happily take any of your tax-deductible delectables!!

For small-scale farmers/gardeners interested in donating, also consider the Plant-A-Row for the Hungry program.

     We Need Volunteers! We are looking for committed, hard-working individuals of all ages and all levels of experience who possess an interest in gardening/farming. Come help us bridge the gap between lost food and food insecurity!

For more information contact Kim at 334-8374 or volunteer@hhfoodbank.org.

Hoosier Hills Food Bank, Inc. is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt nonprofit organization and was incorporated in 1982. We can be reached at (812) 334-8374 or hhfb@hhfoodbank.org.