Organic Gives Back - CCOF

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SUPPORT CCOFBecome part of thenation’s leading organiccommunity by joiningCCOF as a SupportingMember.www.ccof.org/support.php, (831) 423.226314 CCOF Certified Organic Magazine—Fall 2009
Organic Produce Nourishes the HungryBy Annelise KellyIn its 19-year history, Ag AgainstHunger (AAH) has distributedover 150 million pounds of surplusfresh produce from California’sSalinas and Pajaro Valleys. Due toprice fluctuations, picked processedvegetables and fruit from this productiveregion are often left unsoldor stuck in warehouses without abuyer; acres of nutritious crops getscheduled to be plowed under.The non-profit, founded byTim Driscoll of Driscoll StrawberryAssociates; Jess Brown, ExecutiveDirector of the Santa Cruz CountyFarm Bureau; and Willy Elliot-McCrae, Executive Director ofSecond Harvest Food Bank ofSanta Cruz County, is determined to channel abundant excess harvest tothe poor, whose diets are chronically short of fresh fruits and vegetables.In addition to distributing donations, AAH organizes gleaning parties torescue produce left in the field due to cosmetic blemishes or low prices.Of the 50-60 growers who contribute to AAH, about 10% havesome acreage under organic cultivation. According to Abby Silva-Taylor,the executive director of AAH, recipients appreciate both organicand conventional produce. She finds that small organic producers areparticularly active contributors to AAH’s gleaning program, and “theorganic growers tend to really make a connection with the gleaners.They go out in the fields and share their farm stories with volunteers.”A number of CCOF certified members are active participants in theAAH program. Earthbound Farm has been contributing to AAH since2006. Since then, “we have provided almost one million pounds offresh and nutritious produce” states Hillary Fish, Marketing Associatefor Earthbound Farm and a board member of AAH. She finds it “staggeringthat 20% of people living here in the Monterey Bay area arefood insecure.” Fresh produce is particularly valuable because “thelow income people in our community also live at the greatest risk ofobesity because they don’t have access to healthy food choices.”Each year, a number of Driscoll farms donate “20,000-100,000pounds of produce, depending on crop and market conditions”says Greg Anderson, Retail Sales Manager and AAH board member.“It’s so great to see the community come together for such a greatcause--feeding the hungry. They [AAH] have a long heritage of helpingthose in need and I think they’ll be around a long time.”Dale Coke, of Coke Farm/Jardines, appreciates the gleaningprogram because “it’s great that people get a chance to do thework and see what that’s like.”Thanks to the combined efforts of growers, distributors and socialservice agencies, Ag Against Hunger has become a model for producerecovery and distribution. Executive Director Abby Silva-Taylor welcomesinquires from anyone interested in pursuing a similar mission. “We’vehelped organizations throughout the country feed the hungry.” For moreinformation on how to get involved, visit www.agagainsthunger.org.Annelise Kelly is a Portland, Oregon-basedfood and travel writer. Her writing hasappeared in National Geographic Traveler,Pacific Fishing Magazine, The SantaCruz Weekly, the Salinas Californian, andPortland’s Southeast Examiner. She’s beeninterviewed on NPR’s Weekend Editionby Liane Hansen and was a prize-winnerin Lonely Planet’s “One Tank Getaway”contest. She has traveled extensively inEurope, Asia, the Caribbean and NorthAmerica, and is perpetually fascinated byfood, culture and issues of sustainability.CCOF Certified Organic Magazine—Fall 200915
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