Food, Food & Drink, Garden, Kitchen:
No Food Left Behind
Like us, you might feel a little spark of “Wow, why didn’t I think of that?” when you hear about a good idea like AmpleHarvest.org. Soon after, though, you’ll be glad that somebody did.
That somebody is AmpleHarvest.org founder and CNN Hero Gary Oppenheimer, who started the nationwide AmpleHarvest.org effort to diminish hunger, improve nutrition, and help the environment in America by educating, encouraging, and empowering millions of backyard gardeners to easily find a local food pantry eager for their excess garden bounty.
To date, more than 5,300 pantries have registered at www.ampleharvest.org to receive a sustainable and recurring supply of freshly harvested, locally grown food (many for the first time) from area growers — for free. And that means that millions of pantry clients have been able to feed their family healthy, fresh food instead of food packaged with added salt and sugar. The bonus? The carbon footprint of the pantries is reduced as locally sourced food (without packaging or cans trucked across the country that will need to be disposed of) is used. Plus, the community waste stream is reduced as excess food is donated instead of being thrown away, which helps reduce methane emissions at trash dumps.
Deliciously smart ideas all around, no? For more information and to lend your support, check out AmpleHarvest.org.
Photo: AmpleHarvest.org
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Marnie
