Pondering Resilience

During this year-end time of transition, new beginnings, and renewed commitments, Salvation Farms reflects back on our past year and the vital partnerships that strengthen our impact, and looks forward to the growth that 2019 will bring.

As Salvation Farms enters into a new era and embarks on the implementation of a fresh 3-year strategic plan, two of our longest-serving Board Members offer their reflections on their time with Salvation Farms and their vision for the coming years. Both felt strongly that our “common sense approach to problem solving” and our “practical and visionary mission” are at the heart of why they remain committed to our work.

Joe Bossen further reflects on our vision: “Imagine the added resilience that would come from crafting a model that could help all of that surplus (and the fuel, soil, water, and labor already invested in it) realize its potential as food? It’s complex, and still in development, but I for one am anxious to see the issues in resolving this dilemma sincerely grappled with and concrete, practical solutions explored. I’m anxious to see us do better than tilling in such quantities of crop surplus while buying in millions of dollars of less nutritious commodities from out of state to supplement the diets of our community members.” He explains that “these last several years have been the proving grounds for the precepts underpinning this organization. Proof of concept has been bearing out and a coalition of advocates burgeoning.”

Susan Titterton adds that the “beauty of Salvation Farms is our systems approach; we connect to farms and farmers, to the Foodbank and community food shelves, to statewide partners, and individual volunteers. In this uncertain world, I believe Salvation Farms shows us ways to be stronger and better stewards of our gifts, here at home in Vermont.”

As for the future? Joe reflects that “Salvation Farms has been coordinating a statewide effort that ranges from baseline research for better understanding of the scope of the issues at hand, to supporting regional gleaning efforts, to stabilizing the Vermont Commodity Program (which provides the brick and mortar infrastructure needed to aggregate, sort, and distribute agricultural surplus at scale).” He adds that he is “most excited for the work we’ll be undergoing in the months ahead, in which Salvation Farms will be gathering stakeholders from around the state to help draft and execute a statewide agricultural surplus management plan, to help us better reconcile the pre-existing imbalances in our food system.”

Susan concludes that “we aim to spread the word more broadly about our ground-breaking approach to sustainability. We plan to engage with many more individuals and groups who are inspired to support Salvation Farms. I expect this work will continue to be challenging and rewarding.”

We ask you to reflect: how will you join us in this important work?

One way that we will spread the word is through continuing to provide pivotal research that not only explains the issue of food loss on farms but offers responses to this opportunity. Last November, at the Vermont Farm to Plate Network Gathering, Salvation Farms facilitated an impressive panel discussion that included the presentation of national and regional on-farm food loss research. You are invited to watch the session recording here.

Among the findings were thoughts gathered from interviews with Vermont farmers. These interviews asked specifically about what they recommend be done to respond to edible food remaining on Vermont farms. Major interview themes ranged from increasing markets for surplus “grade A” and “seconds” quality produce, to streamlining donation services, to on-farm production and handling improvements.

Salvation Farms couldn’t have been more pleased to have the food loss research session attended by the Network Gathering’s keynote speaker, Laura Lengnick. Laura’s keynote was titled “Why Think Resilience? New Tools for Shaping Change.” Laura owns Cultivating Resilience, LLC.

We invited Laura to share her reactions with you:

“Like many people, I was shocked the first time I learned that about 40% of the food produced in the U.S. is wasted. When I read recently that, globally, food waste produces more greenhouse gas emissions than most countries (it comes in third, behind China and the U.S.), I knew it was time for me to learn more. So I jumped at the chance to attend the “What If We Ate What We Grew” breakout session facilitated by Salvation Farms – and I am so glad that I did! I was surprised to learn that most estimates of food waste account for losses from the farm gate to the plate – losses on the farm are not included. This means that food waste is actually higher – sometimes much higher, depending on the food – than the often cited 40%. Researchers from the World Wildlife Fund, North Carolina State University, and Salvation Farms found that from 3% to as much as 80% of edible fruits and vegetables never leave the farm for various reasons. All three researchers collaborated with farmers to explore locally-led, place-based solutions to reduce on-farm food loss. Many of the recommended solutions are win-win because they increase both farm profitability and food access. No matter where you sit in the food system – producer, processor, retailer, or consumer – it has never been easier to find out how you can reduce food waste and be a part of a solution that is good for you, your business, your community, and the planet.”

Kayla, a Vermont Commodity Program trainee, also provides some reflects for her time working with surplus crops in our Winooski-based food hub.

“In the last three months at Salvation Farms, three determined, driven trainees have been working very hard. We have been doing a lot of inspecting and packing of fruits and vegetables that we receive from various farms. We prepare it to ship out to food shelves in Vermont and beyond.

The most common vegetable we work with is carrots. It’s hard work but well worth the time and energy we put into it. We also work with potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut and buttercup squash, and apples. Each fruit and vegetable has a different process. We’ve learned each one and enjoyed taking this opportunity to forward our careers and provide help to others.”

Each day is a little different, but it’s always a blessing to know we are doing good things for our community. It gives us warmth and positive vibes to be joining forces with farms and local programs to get these fruits and vegetables, that would unfortunately have gone uneaten for the reasons of looking different or growing too small or too big, onto the tables of our neighbors.

One of the things we are extremely grateful for is having volunteers come in to help. We want to thank you for your time and hard work. It helps us provide food to places and people in need. We also want to send out a tremendous and sincere thank you to all the farms that donate the product we work with. It helps us help others in need, especially at this time of year.”

We cannot do this work alone and are grateful for the partnership of incredible businesses, individuals, businesses, and foundations that help us achieve our mission.

We have been partnering with Black River Produce for years to help us haul thousands of pounds of surplus crops. We invited Mark Curran, co-founder of Black River Produce, to reflect on our partnership and how Black River Produce can help fulfill Salvation Farms’ mission.

“At Black River Produce, our tag line is ‘Your Fresh Connection’ and for forty years that’s what we’ve been doing. With a team of more than 200 working around the clock, Black River prides itself on the ability to connect fresh products from around the world to our customers in Vermont and New England.

It’s a rewarding job knowing that the products we sell: fruit, vegetables, seafood, dairy, and sustainably raised protein are the ingredients that make for a healthy diet. Equally rewarding is when we can source these products from local growers, which is always our first choice. With a fleet of refrigerated trucks, we also have the ability to help local producers move perishable product to bigger markets in a timely manner.

It is in this capacity that Salvation Farms partners with Black River Produce to assist with logistics. Because of the incredible job Salvation Farms does, there are days when literally “tons” of fresh product need transportation.

Once again it’s gratifying for us to help with this challenge, knowing that the great local product being gleaned and salvaged is going to those that are underserved. We look forward to continued years of partnership with Salvation Farms and their mission.”

Salvation Farms is also pleased to announce that we were selected to receive Ben and Jerry’s Foundation Capacity Building Grant funding for 2019-2021. This three-year funding is restricted to support us in implementing our new, 3-year strategic plan. This plan identifies key areas to strengthen the organization, including Board and staff development, improving administrative systems, and advancing fundraising.

As Salvation Farms continues to serve as a catalyst for change - mobilizing Vermont to utilize locally-grown surplus food - we are excited to build our organization’s strength and refine our business operations. With great appreciation, we thank the Ben and Jerry’s Foundation and their employee granting committee for choosing to support us.

Rebecca Golden, Director of Programs at the Ben and Jerry’s Foundation, shared the following with Salvation Farms:

“We are so happy to have supported and witnessed the growth and effectiveness of Salvation Farms over the past many years. Theresa and the staff have raised the awareness of on-farm food loss and its potential to serve the needs of the food insecure across Vermont; they are capturing the attention and interest of food waste, food security, and workforce development advocates across the country with their innovative programs.

The Ben & Jerry’s Foundation Grantmaking Committee was extremely impressed, not only with Salvation Farms’ programs and mission, but with the organization’s foresight and desire to do the organizational development work needed to get to the next level of their evolution with strength and sustainability, and with their clear and well-thought out plans to do so. We are very pleased to be able to support Salvation Farms with this Capacity Building grant and are excited to see their continued development as we strengthen our relationship over the next three years.”

To those of you near and far who have donated to our year-end appeal, THANK YOU! Without supporters like you, we would not be able to move crops that would otherwise be wasted into our community and grow food system knowledge and appreciation to all that are a part of our work. If you have not yet given, we invite you to donate online here or mail a check to PO Box 1174, Morrisville, VT 05661

While it is still winter here in Vermont, our farmers are busy ordering, organizing, and starting seeds for early spring transplanting. Do you have an eager gardener or creative cook in your life? Consider sending them a beautiful Vermont Fresh Handbook. It is filled with recipes, tips, and tricks for all your favorite (or unknown) fruits & veggies - from apples and Asian greens to strawberries and tomatillos.

As part of Salvation Farms’ mission to foster knowledge about farms and fresh food, we proudly produced the Vermont Fresh Handbook through years of collaboration with Sterling College and the Vermont Foodbank.

Contained within its pages is information on the nutritional value, storage, preparation, and simple recipes for forty different fruits, vegetables, and herbs that grow well in the Northeast. Plus - the Handbook includes beautiful images of produce, all provided by High Mowing Organic Seeds.