Funders Share Their Thoughts
A Conversation with two of Salvation Farms funders
One summer afternoon in 2005, Jim Eikenberry traveled down a country dirt road to join Salvation Farms for gleaning. Since that day, Jim has never left the organization’s community. He is one of our longest standing supporters – among many – who give what they can each year to see that our important work continues.
In 2012 our founder had her first conversation with Andrea Bretting, Senior Program Manager at The Claneil Foundation. After a visit to Vermont, an unsuccessful grant request, and several more conversations, a strong relationship has been stewarded resulting in three, multi-year grants spanning 2016 to the present day.
This fall, Jim and Andrea came together to share some of their thoughts about Salvation Farms.
Tell us what brought you into the Salvation Farms’ community.
Jim: I volunteered to glean in Salvation Farms’ early days and found the experience to be very meaningful and a lot of fun due to the camaraderie I experienced with other gleaners. I also served on the steering committee in those early days when Salvation Farms was beginning the journey of becoming a nonprofit organization.
Andrea: The Claneil Foundation, a family foundation in Pennsylvania, began supporting Salvation Farms in 2016 in conjunction with a grant program focused on creating solutions around food waste and food loss in the United States. The organization made a critical contribution to this issue, and the foundation has learned so much from Salvation Farms and its Executive Director, Theresa Snow. We are grateful to the leadership the organization provides.
Jim Eikenberry
What difference do you believe Salvation Farms can make in the world?
Andrea Bretting
Jim: Salvation Farms is an inspirational model for communities to holistically tackle the complex and interrelated challenges of food loss and food insecurity. They address these complex conservation and societal challenges with practical know how, compassion, and a keen understanding of the needs of farmers, which is integral to their success. Replicating their approach nationwide and globally would save countless resources, help address global climate change, and feed those facing food insecurity.
Andrea: In the Jewish cycle of time, we just entered the Shmita year. It is a call to ecological, social, and economic justice. Salvation Farms, like Shmita, challenges us to think about what our obligations are to land and people. The organization reminds us that solutions to address the climate crisis and food system resilience exist. What we need to do is support changemakers like Salvations Farms so they can grow and increase their impact.
What do you see as Salvation Farms’ biggest opportunity / challenge?
Jim: The biggest opportunity is the ability for Salvation Farms to share their approach and technical and logistical knowledge of food systems with others. A challenge, as with many smaller non-profits, is having enough funding to support staff with professional-level salaries and benefits they deserve for all of their hard work and dedication.
Andrea: The biggest opportunity for the organization lies in helping to shift the public’s perception so it better understands that farm surplus can be used for charitable purposes and to strengthen regional food systems. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed significant challenges for our food system. Many agree that we need to build back better. That means significant investments are needed to increase farm viability, support local farms, develop shorter supply chains, and build a healthy local economy. Salvation Farms is a critical player on all these issues.
Salvation Farms minimally processed surplus crop product.
Why do you support Salvation Farms?
Salvation Farms youth volunteer, gleaning carrots in 2007.
Jim: Salvation Farms will always have a special place in my heart because of the direct positive impact I know their work has every day for people and the environment. Conserving resources and nourishing people will always be top priorities for me in my charitable giving and Salvation Farms will always be at the top of my list.
Andrea: In the U.S., about 400 pounds of food per person is wasted annually, according to the National Resources Defense Council. Salvation Farms serves as an important link in the community by building strong local partnerships between growers and institutions. Salvation Farms helps to professionalize gleaning organizations. It makes sure that food recovered from farms has a clear endpoint and nourishes communities. It works to increase the resilience in Vermont’s food system, so that in the end there is less food loss on farms and less food waste in the system.
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