Staff Photo Nick Brothers
The Seeds That Feeds team along with a few volunteers stand out in front of their new truck they use to distribute donated and unsold produce from the Fayetteville Farmer’s Market.
Forty percent of food in the United States today goes uneaten.
Roughly $165 billion worth of food goes to waste, and the uneaten food ends up rotting in landfills as the single largest component of U.S. municipal solid waste and a lot of methane emissions, according to the Natural Resource Defense Council.
Worse is in 2013, 49.1 million Americans lived in food-insecure households, according to the USDA.
Enter Seeds That Feed. The non-profit organization works to use the excess and unused food and give it to those in need. They’ve been operating in Fayetteville since 2012, working closely with regional farmers to donate their unsold produce at the Farmer’s Market. Once stocked, volunteers distribute the otherwise unused food to pantries, shelters, schools and community meals. The idea is to provide fresh produce to places that normally would rely on canned and packaged goods.
Seeds That Feeds calls what they do CareCropping. The invented word encompasses everything they do from forming working relationships with the farmers that donate, collecting the food and then giving it out to food pantries. Market shoppers are welcome to donate extra produce they’ve purchased during the Saturday market as well.
Staff Photo Nick Brothers
Aron Shelton organizes some of the donated produce from the Fayetteville Farmer’s Market inside the new Seeds That Feed Mobile Food Network Pantry truck.
In the 2014 season, 34 farmers donated 40,333 pounds of food. That’s approximately the weight of a Greyhound bus in vegetables. If that isn’t enough good news, last week the group was able to take a big step forward for their operations.
The members of Seeds That Feed established their Mobile Food Network and are now hitting the road to distribute more food with a swanky hunger-fighting mobile truck. A nearly $30,000 grant from Walmart through NWA Giving made it all possible.
“We felt that the next part is to access populations that might not be using the facilities we donated to. Maybe you don’t go to a community meal or a pantry,” said Alyssa Synder, Seeds That Feed co-founder. “Maybe you are still in the group of people who may not have access to it, either financially or for lack of transportation. That’s what led to the Mobile Food Network.”
The new truck especially helps the Seeds That Feed team now reach more of their target demographics, said Aron Shelton, co-founder.
“Our target demographic for the Mobile Food Network is low-income seniors, particularly those that are home bound,” he said. “We found that 50 percent of that population is at Hillcrest Towers. So we’ll be able to go down there and bring that shopping experience of the Farmer’s Market to them and give them the ability to get their hands on some produce.”
Staff Photo Nick Brothers
Aron Shelton collects unsold tomatoes from the Gentry-based Vang Moua Farms booth to be later distributed at Hillcrest Towers.
Along with the truck, the Mobile Food Network was developed along with a nutritional education plan to provide recipes with the food and further connect with those they give the donations to. For example, at Hillcrest Towers, Seeds That Feed provides free Cookboxes full of a year’s supply of recipes to go with the produce provided.
While patrons are shopping, the group streams a self-produced recipe demonstration video for kale pesto — a versatile and nutritious food idea. Pamphlets that detail how SNAP dollars can be used at the Farmer’s Market to double them through a grant the market receives are distributed as well.
“Now that we’ve got the food and we’re giving out we can provide a service rather than just delivering the food,” Synder said. “While they’re eating some kale pesto, we’ve got this video showing how easy it is to make. It’s about packaging it all together. Once this food gets into people’s hands we can show how it’s affordable and easy to cook with it.”
Throughout the years Seeds That Feed has been in operation, the organizer said their favorite experience is working with and developing relationships with the local farmers who are willing to donate their produce.
“I love developing relationships with our farmers,” said Margaret Thomas, director for Seeds That Feed. “In the beginning they were giving us their food to help other people and that was so humbling and exciting at the same time. Since this is our fourth year, we have pretty close relationships. They say we’re like their kids now. That’s been really cool.”
Staff Photo Nick Brothers
The Seeds That Feed team works together to stock the Mobile Food Network truck.
This past Saturday as Shelton collected produce from the various farmers around the square, many striked up conversation about his family’s well being. When it was time to tear down, Shelton, Synder and Thomas helped them load up their vehicles.
Through working with the farmers, some of which are foreign, Shelton said he’s gained a deep appreciation for how hard working they are for harvesting in the early morning, setting up at the market at 7 a.m. and selling through the heat until 2 p.m. Some go to work in factories later in the day, he said.
As for the future, Seeds That Feeds hopes to establish the Mobile Food Network in the community and reach out to other communities.
“Our hope is that we can package this programming all the way from CareCropping to The Mobile Food Network,” Synder said. “From there, create a template to easily go into other communities and replicate this circle of growing the food all the way to getting it to those who need it.”
For those who would be interested in helping Seeds That Feed, contact Margaret Thomas at margaret@seedsfeed.org, or visit them at 101 W Mountain St., Fayetteville, AR.
Editor’s note: This article has since been updated to include contact information for Seeds That Feed.
