Comments and Feedback

“Within one hour of registering Community Resource Center on the AmpleHarvest.org website I received a call from a local family of four with 10 orange trees. I spoke with the mother of the family and she said that until she heard of AmpleHarvest.org her family was spending time cleaning up rotten fruit off the ground. Now her family can spend time harvesting fruit to give to low income families in their community. Since speaking with her, she has dropped off 8 large bags full of locally grown oranges.”
Sarah, Community Resource Center Food Pantry, CA

“I can tell you how much those who utilize the food pantry enjoy the opportunity to take home some fresh produce. The turnips were flying out the door yesterday. Yes, that’s right. These are the same turnips (except these are organically grown) that sit unloved in the grocery store produce section. Keep that fresh produce coming. It’s good for the whole country because healthier people means less money going to the hospitals.”
Katherine Meyers, Newport Food Panrty, CA

“The Elwood Food Pantry received 1,451 pounds of fresh garden produce in the month of August.  What a blessing this is to our client friends”
Ron Becker, Elwood Food Pantry, Elwood IN

“Through your work at AmpleHarvest.org, local food pantries are connected with backyard gardeners. This partnership ensures that families who visit food pantries have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, while at the same time making sure that food grown in backyard gardens across America is not wasted. USDA supports the efforts of AmpleHarvest.org to end hunger in America and to improve access to nutritious, fresh produce for many low-income families. USAD’s Food and Nutrition Service is committed to reducing hunger and improving access to nutritious food for low-income Americans. We commend your dedication to this goal and thank you for helping to ensure that needy Americans are able to feed their families.”
United State Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, DC

“Because of AmpleHarvest.org, our food pantry got lots of lovely, delicious grapefruit the first part of 2012. This cool man even washed & bagged the fruit. And before that I thought no one knew we were in existence. Thank you AmpleHarvest.org”
Patricia A. Wilson Sircy, Meal Mania Food Panry, FL

“Misericordia University was notified that the shelves of a nearby food pantry, the Pastor’s Food Pantry of Noxen, PA, were nearly bare – the overflow storage was clear and the town was in desperate need, as an average of 68 families visit this pantry on any given week. A prayer was answered when Leanne Mazurick of AmpleHarvest.org contacted the Campus Ministry office in hopes to coordinate a food rescue event at the Fertile Grounds garden… Students gathered to harvest crops from the garden which would have otherwise gone to waste. On one Tuesday morning, a few generous souls offered their time and talents to gather up extra collard greens, bok choy, swiss chard, cabbage, broccoli, and a few tomatoes. Later that week, more volunteers met at the close of the Farmer’s Market and rescued boxes of items left over including kale, eggplant and apples which went to a local women’s shelter that rarely receives donations of fresh produce… We’re so grateful to Ample Harvest for contacting us and coordinating this extraordinary effort! ”
Kristen Samuels, Misercordia University, PA

“AmpleHarvest.org has been a huge benefit to our partner agencies and has really helped getting fresh fruits to those in need.”
Liz Landa, Feeding America of San Diego, CA

“AmpleHarvest.org is a powerful example of the message the NCC has been preaching for years. Providing and sharing fresh food is not only eco-just — it’s biblically sound and theologically prophetic.”
Cassandra Carmichael, National Council of Churches, DC

“I wanted to let you know that a representative from one of our local farmers/community garden contacted me today desiring to donate excess vegetables to our Fresh Market. He was made aware of us through the AmpleHarvest.org website. I’m very happy that your organization has a presence on the internet, and that you are connecting local farmers and food pantries.”
Crystal Robinson, Breakthrough Urban Ministries, IL

“Need fresh produce? Here is a website that connects farmers & backyard gardeners to your food pantry….The hope is that growers will turn their surplus produce into food for the needy, thereby preventing waste. It’s a great idea and a wonderful site. ”
Robert Srodulski, God’s Pantry food Bank, KY

“We have been trying to find a good way to communicate to gardeners which food shelves they can donate to. I think AmpleHarvest.org is the missing link we have been looking for.”
Tony Mans, Second Harvest Heartland, MN

“[AmpleHarvest.org is] a win-win model: the kitchen growers have the satisfaction of seeing their surplus food being eaten, and enjoyed. Impoverished pantry and shelter residents get to eat decent meals. And, down the road, the health care system saves money because the population is eating better, healthier, fare.”
Sasha Abramsky, Huffington Post

“What’s most exciting about AmpleHarvest.org is that anyone can help connect their surplus produce to pantries, from community gardens, to ambitious backyard gardeners (or front-yard, in my own personal case), to apartment dwellers who use that crazy upside down tomato planter.”|
Beyond Bread

“AmpleHarvest.org… touched on an underrated problem in the food recovery world. How can individuals or institutions donate fresh food when they don’t know where to bring it?

AmpleHarvest.org was created to solve that problem by providing an easy way for backyard gardeners to find the food pantries closest to their home. It’s a neat idea. Because not only do pantries need more donations to meet their increased demand, but they also need fresh produce to provide healthy meals to those who don’t get enough nourishment.”
Jonathan Bloom, www.wastedfood.com

“This [AmpleHarvest.org] is a great program that gardeners and small farmers can, and should, embrace. … Promote the idea to your farming friends so that they know were and when they can drop off contributions. People who use a food bank deserve fresh food and in today’s economy there are more people than ever who need the help. So don’t let the tomatoes get over ripe because you cannot can any more, bug your local food bank to take them, or set up your own table outside the food bank so that people can help themselves.”
Kate Copsey, Atlanta Gardening Examiner

“After the Garden Writers Association started Plant A Row for The Hungry, we reached out for partners wherever we could. And we found them in all manner of places. The idea of gardeners sharing (at least) one row in their gardens with those who were hungry grew leaps and bounds as the word was spread and other organizations joined with us.

No one knows this as well as AmpleHarvest.org. We salute AmpleHarvest.org for its dedication to the mission of sharing food instead of wasting it and we look forward to continued work with AmpleHarvest.org to promote the goals of Plant A Row and other efforts to help those in need of food”
Jeff Lowenfels, Plant A Row for the Hungry

“A brilliant initiative.

Not only is this (“In the latter half of the 20th century, large stretches of farmlands that had fed America were converted to housing developments. AmpleHarvest.org is part of an effort to return some of that land back to feeding America.”) something we should all support, but we should also encourage suburban home owners associations to relax “turf” covenants, so that more lawns can be turned into gardens.”
Lya Sorano, The Accidental Gardener

“This is a great idea!! Last year I had so many peppers. My parents had many tomatoes. I wish we knew earlier so that we could have planted more!!! :-)”
Christine Truhn, Facebook

“… [our food bank] has sent your information out to us….I do have to say is ‘Hot Diggity!!'”
Kathy Auger , LIFE Food Pantry, Loveland OH

“AmpleHarvest.org is beautifully simple and simply beautiful”
Jen Chapin , Singer/songwriter