Sunday, April 24, 2022 | Special Advertising Section 1 R 38 SPONSORED CONTENT How a millenia-old practice is feeding people today Fresh produce straight from a farm isn’t something you’d expect to find at a food bank. But as area food banks continue to experience high demand even as the pandemic begins to fade, fresh produce is not only welcome, but becoming essential to help keep them fully stocked. According to Northwest Harvest, one million Washington residents visited a food bank in the past year, and one in sixWashington kids lives in a household that faces challenges in putting enough food on the table. With terminated pandemic assistance programs and rising inflation, it is important now more than ever to ensure food banks have a dependable source for food. For one food bank, this has meant developing partnerships with local farms, farmers markets, community gardens and individual growers to address this increasing need for Washington residents. Thanks to generous local farmers and volunteer “gleaners,” bins filled with a rainbow of farm-fresh fruits and vegetables added up to more than 300,000 additional pounds of food at Hopelink food banks last year. The practice of gleaning — collecting excess crops from fields after they have been commercially harvested — isn’t new. It dates to biblical times, and years later became an essential part of farming life. Today, through the Hopelink Harvest program, it’s a way to help stock Hopelink food banks with the freshest, healthiest food available, while also reducing food waste. For Harvest Program Supervisor Elena Lavrushin, Hopelink’s gleaning program goes beyond just collecting non-harvested crops. “I think it’s a human right,” she says. “But some people can’t afford it, or they live in a food desert. We’re changing that.We’re getting fresh food to people who might not have access to it otherwise.” Food insecurity is associated with poor dietary intake among seniors and younger adults and has a variety of negative effects — particularly related to the health and ability of children to learn in school. In addition to gleaning, the Harvest program benefits from a partnership between Hopelink and Harvest Against Hunger (a program of Rotary District 5030), that enables Lavrushin —who learned farming through an apprenticeship in her native New Jersey — to buy fresh produce from local farms. Harvest Against Hunger’s Since 1971, Hopelink has served homeless and low-income families, children, seniors and people with disabilities in King and Snohomish counties; providing stability and helping people gain the skills and knowledge they need to exit poverty for good. Learn more at www.hopelink.org. Farm to Community program is designed to build relationships between local, small-scale farms and food banks, but it also enables Lavrushin to tailor her purchases. “I purchase based on each food bank’s demographics,” she says. “And I try to choose the foods that are culturally relevant and most appropriate to each area.” She also buys produce that may not be available through gleaning excess crops, such as fresh tomatoes. Last year, the Harvest Against Hunger partnership enabled Hopelink Harvest to purchase nearly 17,000 pounds of produce from local farms. Hopelink Harvest currently partners with seven local farms for gleaning, including one — Food Bank Farm in Snohomish — that grows crops specifically for food banks. Started in 2011 by Father Jim Eichner, pastor of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Cross in Redmond, Food Bank Farm was created for those who aren’t in a position to shop for fresh produce in a grocery store or farmer’s market and enables food bank clients to access the first pick of quality produce. Since the farm began, volunteers have harvested more than 1.5 million pounds of fresh produce for area food banks. For Hopelink, the Harvest program and the role it plays in increasing access to fresh, healthy food is a vital component of the organization’s commitment to helping families and individuals gain stability and the tools and skills needed to exit poverty.When someone is hungry, it’s impossible to focus on anything else — from taking initial steps toward stability to building a stronger foundation. “Everyone deserves access to fresh, healthy produce,” Lavrushin says. “We’re helping to make that happen.” PROVIDED BY HOPELINK Read story online Volunteers harvest broccoli at Food Bank Farm pre-pandemic. (Hopelink)
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