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 are celebrating Phil Fong. Phil has been volunteering with Hope’s Harvest since 2019 and is a regular in the fields! If you’ve volunteered with Phil before, you probably remember him for his enthusiasm for gleaning and willingness to share his knowledge.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Phil moved to Rhode Island to attend the University of Rhode Island (URI). He has fond memories of gardening with his grandfather as a child – despite not having much space in the city, his grandfather grew flowers and different plants in pots. After graduating from college and beginning his career as a pharmacist, Phil’s interest in gardening continued and he started his own backyard garden, learning from his neighbor and his own successes.
After retiring, Phil enrolled in URI’s Master Gardener course and became a Master Gardener in 2019. It was in this capacity as a Master Gardener that he learned about Hope’s Harvest and became a gleaning volunteer.
He was drawn to volunteer with Hope’s Harvest for numerous reasons, but emphasizes his appreciation for the way Hope’s Harvest supports small, local farmers, financially and otherwise, to sustain their farming businesses. Being a gardener himself and having met many different farmers through gleaning, Phil recognizes that running a small farming business is incredibly hard work and that support from Hope’s Harvest is extremely valuable to enable farmers’ success in the local food system community.
Gleaning also appealed to Phil because he enjoys the healthy activity of working outside on farms while contributing to reducing food waste. His gleaning experiences have also supported his ongoing learning and knowledge of gardening; gleaning at different farms offers new experiences and opportunities to learn about different crops, farming methods, and harvest techniques.
Charlotte’s Farm is Phil’s favorite place to glean, in large part because of Charlotte, the farmer. Charlotte is passionate about her work, fun and helpful, and also a very impressive and hard-working businesswoman – gleaning with her is a lot of fun!
Phil’s favorite crops to glean are corn and apples; both are fun to harvest and it’s satisfying to be able to glean such a large quantity of food to donate. In his role as a gleaning volunteer Phil has also bridged a connection with Mary’s House Food Pantry and Kitchen in Providence and delivers to the kitchen surplus b-grade produce that isn’t suitable for pantries but is perfect for cooking in meals.
In addition to volunteering with Hope’s Harvest, Phil is also involved in other volunteer projects in his role as a Master Gardener and in his free time he practices photography, another of his hobbies.
Phil’s favorite part of gleaning is that he is always learning. There’s so much to learn from farmers and other volunteers about gardening, whether it be about adapting to weather and climate conditions, learning about different varieties of plants and crops, or sharing ways to reduce waste.
Thank you, Phil, for your commitment to Hope’s Harvest, our mission, and your enthusiasm for gleaning!
