Lawrence, KS – According to the statement, the Lawrence-Douglas County Sustainability Office says it has teamed up with After the Harvest, a rescue nonprofit based in Kansas City, and Community Organized Gleaners, a grassroots volunteer group of experienced farmers, in order to expand food recovery on farms in Douglas Co.
According to the officials, the main goal is to rescue nutritious fruits and vegetables from farm fields after the marketable harvest and give them to Douglas Co. agencies that provide food and shelter to community members.
The USDA Office of Urban Agriculture awarded it a two-year Community Compost and Food Waste Reduction grant in the fall of 2020 to work on food resource recovery. It’s one of only 13 communities in the nation to get the grant.
The multi-partner project is building on locally-based efforts launched in 2020 by COGs. In 2020, it said they recovered 2,644 pounds of food from four local farms with the help of 35 volunteers between July and October. So far in 2021, it said volunteers have recovered 40 pounds of spinach from Moon on the Meadow. It said food has been delivered to Just Food, Sunrise Project and the Lawrence Community Shelter.