California Gleaning Org Diverts Food Waste from Field to School Lunches

May 22, 2017 | Pamela Ellgen

When Holly and Terry Delaney poked their heads into the kitchen at the Salvation Army where a friend was undergoing a one-year program toward self-sufficiency they were disappointed to see mostly frozen and canned goods being served. When you’re in recovery and trying to get healthy, you should be eating healthy food, they thought.

With the budget constraints of a nonprofit organization in mind, the pair approached local farmers in their community, the Santa Ynez Valley in California’s Central Coast, who agreed to let them glean produce from their fields or pick up food that didn’t sell during farmer’s markets and distribute it to local charities. One by one, new farmers agreed to contribute, and within a year, the Delaneys realized they had a viable nonprofit organization themselves. They registered Veggie Rescue as a 501(c)(3) in 2011.   Read More

‘Future of Food’ Urban Farming Field Trip to Explore Urban Ag Endeavors in Inland SoCal

April 4, 2017 | seedstock

Slated for Saturday, May 20, 2017 the ‘Future of Food – Urban Farming Field Trip’ will visit a series of innovative urban farming ventures in Inland Southern California that have emerged to grow the local food marketplace, increase food access, educate local communities, advocate for food equity, and improve health and nutrition. The field trip hosted by Seedstock, a social venture that seeks to foster the development of sustainable local food systems, will also include lectures from experts in urban farming.

The tour is the third in a series of Seedstock ‘Future of Food’ field trips that was recently launched to facilitate the exploration of food system innovations that are generating economic and community capital. Read More

Second ‘Future of Food’ Field Trip Explores Community Development Endeavors in Los Angeles, CA

March 21, 2017 | Robert Puro

On Friday, March 17, Seedstock hosted the ‘Future of Food – Community Development Field Trip’, which provided attendees an excursion into the diversity of innovative food and farming ventures that have emerged to increase food access, reduce food waste, create jobs, advocate for food equity, and improve health and nutrition across Southern California. The tour was the second in a series of Seedstock ‘Future of Food’ field trips that was recently launched to facilitate the exploration of food system innovations that are generating economic and community capital. Participants were treated to lectures and sessions from experts in the fields of community gardening, urban farming, and food justice.

The trip kicked off with a stop at Lavender Hill Urban, a key project of the Los Angeles Community Garden Council (LACGC), which manages 42 community gardens in Los Angeles County. Comprised of four and half acres of land, Lavender Hill Farm is located alongside the 110 freeway near Chinatown in Los Angeles, directly behind the Solano Canyon Community Garden. It was launched to provide meaningful work for ex-cons, former addicts, and at-risk teenagers. Read More

Future of Food Field Trip Speakers to Address Community Development, Food Justice and Access

March 1, 2017 | seedstock

Food related endeavors that focus on community development and engagement — from community gardens and urban farms to workforce development programs — play an essential role in enhancing food security, educating citizens about where there food comes from, and strengthening food equity.

To address the role that community gardens, workforce development, and increasing food access play in strengthening communities and local food systems Seedstock’s ‘Future of Food – Community Development Field Trip’ on March 17, 2017 will provide attendees with an opportunity to learn from and interact with leading experts in the field. Read More

In Fight Against Food Poverty, L.A. Kitchen Embraces Imperfect Fruit and Intergenerational Workforce

February 13, 2017 | Charli Engelhorn

Fighting hunger is more than just about food for Robert Egger, founder and CEO of L.A. Kitchen, a non-profit in Los Angeles that engages, empowers, and nourishes the local community “by reclaiming healthy, local food that would otherwise be discarded, training men and women who are unemployed for jobs, and providing healthy meals to fellow citizens,” according to the organizations mission statement.

“Fighting hunger is a political act, a social act, an economic act,” says Egger. “I want to be a source and develop a model that shows how you can feed more people a better meal with less money.”

L.A. Kitchen is modeled after Egger’s first enterprise, D.C. Central Kitchen in Washington D.C. A chance experience of accompanying friends to feed the homeless there highlighted some inadequacies Egger couldn’t ignore, such as purchasing the food when so many people in the food industry he knew lamented over wasting food at the end of the night. Read More