Last year, more than half of a million pounds of fresh produce grown on the Eastern Shore was distributed by the Maryland Food Bank. And it was the generosity of 34 Eastern Shore farmers that made it possible through a Maryland Food Bank program called “Farm-to-Food Bank,” begun in June of 2011.
We’re not talking about canned goods here. This donated food includes fresh sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, melons and squash. It includes eggplant, strawberries, kale and collards – straight from the fields of Delmarva. The most nutritious (and expensive) food at the grocery store is making its way to hungry families in Maryland as a result of this project.
Every once in a while, you meet a person who is perfectly matched to their occupation – so much so, that you think they were born to do it. Amy Cawley’s business card says “food solicitor”. As an employee of the Maryland Food Bank, she runs the “Farm-To-Food Bank Program,” bringing fresh local Eastern Shore produce to thousands around the state.
Born and raised on a Caroline County grain farm, and with years under her belt in produce operations, Amy knows produce and knows farming. Tall, blond and athletic, she’s serious and focused.
She understands how perishable produce is, and how critical it is to move it out of the rows quickly and into a truck before it decomposes (strawberries have to go in and out of the food bank within 24 hours).
She knows how picky produce buyers are, and has seen entire fields of watermelon gone to waste because of minor imperfections that make it impossible for farmers to sell (yes, farmers hate this).
She’s seen how much food is left in fields after mechanical harvesting is complete and how often farmers have rows and rows of edible food that goes unsold, and is left to rot in the field (sometimes market prices make it impossible for farmers to cover labor and transportation costs).
She’s also seen block-long lines of hungry families waiting for the bags of tomatoes, peppers, turnips and greens being distributed through the 143 participating Food Bank partner agencies.
“It’s just wrong to waste it,” she said. Indeed.
On Tuesday, the Natural Resources Defense Council released a report stating that Americans throw away up to 40% of their food every year. Waste occurs in every step of the process, from farm to table. Ranging from the market pressures that force farmers to grow more than they can sell, to the average American family of four, tossing out $2,275 worth of food each year, the report is disturbing. And it’s encouraging to see an effort to reduce that waste here on the Shore, where 450,000 contiguous acres of agriculture requiring fertilizers, manpower, water and energy, is impacting water quality of the Chesapeake Bay.
Without Shore farmers willing to donate their food, this program would be impossible. Amy’s job is to develop and nurture those relationships with farmers, and she’s growing the program.
The Food Bank’s goal for this year is to grow and to build a volunteer network. This is where you come in.
It takes time to glean fields. It takes effort and energy. From picking, to packing and sorting, many hands are needed to keep this operation going. The Maryland Food Bank has three locations – Salisbury, Baltimore and Hagerstown. All of the produce gleaned from Eastern Shore farms goes through Salisbury, where it is sorted, packed and trucked to partner agencies across the state.
The program’s success is due to a partnership with the Poplar Hill Pre-Release Unit near Salisbury. Soon-to-be released inmates and their supervisors meet up with Cawley at local farms and pick, carry and load the produce onto trucks. Without the partnership with the Maryland Correctional Services, a half million pounds of food would have been lost.
But more hands are needed.
How many? How much can one person do?
A lot.
Last summer, Cawley had a call from a farmer with rows of corn that were available, but she had no helpers. Her father agreed to meet her and in four hours, the two of them picked 2,000 pounds of sweet corn, loaded it in his pickup truck and took it to the Food Bank in Salisbury. Within 24 hours, that food was on dinner tables in Maryland, feeding hundreds of people. Two people, giving four hours of their time, can equal a nutritious meal for hundreds of our less fortunate neighbors.
Last year, one farm gave 146,000 pounds of watermelon. Yesterday, Black Gold Farm in Rhodesdale donated 12,000 pounds of potatoes. This morning, five inmates picked three bins of sweet corn from Bartenfelder Farms in Preston. Three bins of corn equals 150 dozen which equals 1800 ears of fresh sweet corn on dinner plates across our state.
Cawley is reaching out to 4-H and other organizations for volunteer assistance. This is an opportunity for anyone, but a terrific chance for young people to understand where their food comes from, how much work it is to raise and harvest it, and what food distribution systems look like. Volunteers from Midshore counties can be on hand to meet up at farms nearby, from Dorchester to Denton, Chestertown and beyond, to help pick and pack.
The Farm-to-Food Program is a shining example of generosity, abundance, sharing and wellness. Most importantly, the energy put into the production of hundreds of thousands of pounds of food is not being wasted, but directed to those who need it most. Winners include farmers, who get a tax break, the inmates, who get exercise and work opportunities, and the hungry – over 460,000 of our Maryland neighbors who are living just below the federal poverty level.
That’s something to bank on.
For more information on the Maryland Food Bank or to volunteer with the Farm-to-Food Bank program, see their website.
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