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Food For Free's ProgramsProduce Rescue | Field of Greens | Home Delivery | Farm Rescue The heart of Food For Free’s work is our
Produce Rescue Operation. Five mornings a week, our drivers and volunteers
visit the From June through November volunteers help Food For Free staff glean produce four days a week from the local Farmers Markets in Central Square, Davis Square and Copley Square, annually rescuing thousands of pounds of local fresh produce. In addition, we supplement the food we rescue by purchasing food on behalf of the Cambridge Food Pantry Network through funding provided by the City of Cambridge. The rescued food is transported immediately to one of the nearly four dozen human service agencies that we serve. In most cases, the food we rescue is either incorporated into a meal (by a program that serves meals) or sent home with a family (by a food pantry) within 24 hours of being donated. In 1991, Field of Greens is made possible through a grant from the Timberland Company and the support of Linden Tree Farm. Our Home Delivery Program allows low-income Cambridge
residents who are too sick or disabled to access food pantries on their
own the opportunity to receive monthly deliveries of food at their own
homes.
For more information, or to receive an application,
individuals should contact David R. Leslie at (617) 868-2900. One of the great things about living in Massachusetts
is being surrounded by small farms, owned and worked by people who really
care about food. From May through November, Food For Free works with
area farmers to rescue fresh, locally grown vegetables and distribute
them within the emergency food system. Food For Free rescues food directly from Linden Tree Farm, in Lincoln; Gaining Ground and Verrill Farm, both in Concord; and Waltham Fields Community Farm, in Waltham. Every week during the growing season, our drivers visit these farms to gather fresh vegetables which they immediately deliver to local food programs. By the end of the 2005 growing season, we expect to have rescued close to 20,000 pounds which will be distributed among more than forty food pantries, meal programs, and emergency shelters. In addition to working with farms directly, Food For Free also rescues from three area farmers’ markets: Copley Square, Boston; Central Square, Cambridge; and Davis Square, Somerville. Working with the Federation of Massachusetts Farmers’ Markets allows us to collect from an additional two dozen farms each week, as well as several bakeries. Like everything we rescue, this food helps to feed those in our community who are at greatest risk of hunger and malnutrition.
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Food For Free / 11 Inman Street / Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139 / Voice: 617-868-2900 / Fax: 617-868-2395 |
Website design by Andy Oakland |
wholesalers at the New England Produce Center where they solicit donations
of fresh fruits and vegetables that might otherwise go to waste. Our
drivers then head to several grocery stores, where they gather not only
fresh produce, but baked goods and dairy products as well.
Food For Free planted our first Field of Greens. Each summer, we supplement
the produce we rescue with nutrient-dense vegetables grown by our own
staff and volunteers. In 2004, our farm managers and volunteers harvested
more than 5,300 pounds of vitamin-rich, organically grown vegetables
for distribution to our recipient agencies. Volunteers are a critical
part of Field of Greens, putting in hundreds of hours of time each year
to help grow tons of carrots, eggplants, peppers, broccoli, cabbage,
spinach, lettuce, collards and kale for distribution
Each
month, we deliver more than forty pounds of food to each of forty housebound
individuals who have been referred by their health care providers or
social workers.