When Tom Nardacci, CEO of New York State’s Regional Food Bank, considers opportunities for sourcing more food, he sees limits to the amount of food that can be donated, rescued, or government-supplied. He also sees plenty of farms. That landscape is the reason behind a new strategy putting much more…
Posts published in “Farms”
Food banks and farms have long had a special bond, which is proving to have staying power, even without the aid of federal funding. Building ties with local farms was made easy for many food banks during the Biden Administration, thanks to targeted funding from the Local Food Purchase Assistance…
Less than a year after Hurricane Helene devastated portions of its service area in September 2024, MANNA FoodBank initiated a three-pronged approach to revitalizing its local food systems – supporting area growers, strengthening partner capacity, and – in a more unusual move – building community hubs. Its Essential Foods Program…
Farm-to-food-assistance programs are thriving, according to a report, signaling a new chapter in how communities can address hunger relief. The idea of getting food from local farms to food-insecure people is not necessarily new, but Covid-19 helped to spur additional investment in the practice. Now that the model is taking…
It’s one thing for a food bank to say it’s going to get involved in the food justice movement. It’s another to actually do it. Alameda County Community Food Bank made a definitive move into food justice when it agreed to invest between $2 million and $2.5 million per year…
There are lots of reasons for food banks to have farms, and most of them don’t have to do primarily with distributing food. That’s the case at Mid-Ohio Food Collective, which is building a farm of the future consisting of high-tech growing spaces and learning facilities. Spanning seven acres in…
Like many food banks, Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin began supporting local farmers by buying food from them during the pandemic. Before long, it was running a large farm-to-food bank program, purchasing produce at market rates from 55 farmers. Recently, it figured out another way to support even more…
By all accounts, a program that the USDA introduced in late 2021 to help local farmers grow nutritious food for underserved communities has worked out exceedingly well (Food Bank News first wrote about it here.) The Local Food Purchase Assistance program has resulted in nearly $700 million of funds going…
Greater control is one reason that a handful of food banks are embracing soil-free systems as a way to grow produce for their clients. Greenhouse farming through hydroponics (where the roots grow in water) and aeroponics (where the roots are irrigated with a mist of nutrients) offers a measure of…