By Brooke Warner The work we do at Farm Fresh RI wouldn’t be possible without our volunteers. We hold enormous gratitude for all of our past, present, and future volunteers. Today we … Read More →
HOPE'S HARVEST
On-Farm Food Rescue & Donation
Hope’s Harvest mobilizes volunteers to harvest surplus fruits and vegetables from farms, contracts with local growers, and pays for surplus produce — all for distribution to hunger relief agencies throughout RI. Hope’s Harvest supports:
- Economic opportunities for local farm businesses to meet the needs of the emergency food system
- Healthy food access and food security for all Rhode Islanders
- Improved community resilience by increasing the amount of locally grown produce consumed in RI
Hunger Relief Purchasing
In addition to our gleaning activities, Hope’s Harvest also coordinates grant-funded procurement programs that pay local farmers to grow for hunger relief.
- The Farm to Food Pantry (FTFP) program allocates funding to hunger relief agencies in RI to purchase locally produced goods through the Market Mobile online ordering platform.
- The Senior Market Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) is a hunger relief program that addresses food insecurity among low-income Rhode Island seniors by distributing boxes of locally grown fruits, vegetables, honey, and herbs, all of which is sourced from Rhode Island farmers. This program is run in conjunction with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), please visit their website for more program specifics.
3,500 Volunteers
Recruited to rescue food at local farms
1,078,639 lbs
Fresh, local produce saved from waste
35,000 people/month
Served rescued food at RI relief agencies
*Metrics represent years 2018-2023.
PROGRAM IN ACTION
Meet Hope's Harvest
As an efficient and effective solution to the twin challenges of food waste and hungry people, farm-based food recovery (also known as “gleaning”) strengthens our local food system and makes our communities less dependent on commodity food shipped from thousands of miles away instead of what’s in our own backyard.