Salvation Farms

For 20 years, Salvation Farms work has been centered on fostering a future where local food from farms feeds local communities. Through gleaning, we recover wholesome crops from local farms unable to reach traditional markets and distribute them to community programs serving community meal sites such as food shelves, senior meal programs, and after school initiatives in Vermont’s four northeastern counties. This vital work continues year-round, with unmarketable storage crops gleaned during the winter and field gleaning during the growing season. In addition, our Vermont Commodity Program's objective is to test the financial feasibility and logistical needs (food safety, product flow, product development) of aggregating large volumes of surplus crops in one facility to serve charitable and institutional meal sites. We believe that increasing processing, and developing markets and distribution models in collaboration with institutions including schools and prisons will facilitate greater access to locally-grown, surplus crops. This has the added benefit of displacing much use of food sourced from outside Vermont and reducing cost burden for recipient sites. It also serves to address food insecurity and access as well as supporting farm viability by providing a much-needed additional revenue stream for farm owners. According to our internal research, an estimated 14.3 million pounds (more than 43 million servings) of edible vegetables and berries remain on farms, uneaten across Vermont each year. In Vermont’s four northeast counties, the annual amount of locally-grown, surplus produce could be as high as 1.6 million pounds (nearly 5 million servings). Our work centers on the belief that, through community engagement and re-localization of the food system by focusing on small, diversified farms, we can create a more just and resilient future for all.