EVERETT — They bring the farm to the food banks.
Project Harvest is a local effort run by volunteers, some from AmeriCorps. They team up with farmers — at the market and in the fields — to collect fresh produce that isn’t going to sell. The effort also draws support from Volunteers of America Western Washington, the Snohomish County Food Bank Coalition and Rotary First Harvest.
It started here in 2014, and gleaning, a Biblical word for collecting leftover harvest, was added the following year.
Amy Johnson is in AmeriCorps while working toward an associate degree at Everett Community College. Project Harvest’s Stephanie Aubert was a guest speaker in her nutrition class. They learned they share an interest in sustainable food programs.
“It’s exciting to see the produce come together and then go into the boxes and know that hungry people are going to get fed by this …,” Johnson said. “I also enjoy growing vegetables and the gleaning aspect of it is really fun when we are able to go to different farms.”
The volunteers take shifts nearly every Sunday at the markets in Everett and Lake Forest Park. They are joined by others, including Beth Wry, also an EvCC student. Aubert recruited her during Earth Week.
So far in July, there has been “quite a bit of lettuce and kale,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot of squash coming in right now, a lot of cherries.”
The haul is taken to a warehouse in Everett. The volunteers organize boxes with as much variety as possible before distribution. Some produce comes with deadlines, so it may depend on which food bank or other service organization is open next.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @rikkiking.
How to help
Project Harvest aims to increase access to nutritious food in Snohomish County. Volunteers always are needed. That can mean collecting produce at farmers markets on Sunday afternoons or sorting the goods on Sunday evenings.
Gardeners and owners of fruit trees can donate from their crops, and monetary donations also are accepted.
More info: www.projectharvestsnoco.com, projectharvestsnoco@gmail.com, 425-259-3191 ext. 13058, or check out “Project Harvest SnoCo” on Facebook and Instagram.
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