Does anyone here know a good clearinghouse site for identifying food banks or soup kitchens that take home grown produce? If you happen to know any particular place near Harrisburg PA, that would be even better.
I need to give away a couple hundred pounds of big winter squashes. They’re a Chinese hybrid that I got from Agrohaitai that weighs 15-20 lbs each, don’t store particularly well but should taste very good. They’re so big that I haven’t cracked any of them open yet. I need to get rid of these guys before they go bad.
I used to place a sign in front of my house with ziplocks full of tomatoes that said : FREE
Maybe call around your local food banks? If not then i would just post to all the local online neighborhood stuff you’re apart of.
The free stuff was great until i realized people were actively camping outside down the street every day at around 3pm/ the time i usually have them out… but i did this religiously for weeks though until i saw that it was 1 van that took everything all at once
I’m not on Facebook or online Neighborhood groups. Never going to be. I know that’s a downside of being selective about my online presence but I stay away from most big platforms because I don’t trust them
Putting things outside is not an option in freezing weather plus it might end up attracting porch bandits.
I can probably call them up individually and ask, but kinda hoping that there’s already a resource that screened this issue for me. Plus most of the food pantries that I could easily find for the area seem to be proselytizing religious organizations, which is not ideal. I’m fine with religious groups doing good work, but not if they’re preaching to the hungry in return for food.
I spent about 10 years working with my local Homeless Shelter, and my thesis in grad school was on Homeless Service Provision. Both overlapped significantly with soup kitchen/ food distribution. So, some fairly universal trends here, particularly for Appalachia & the Eastern part of the USA.
Nomenclaturally, there is a difference between “Food Bank” and “Food Pantry.” Those needing help and those getting involved will mix them up regularly, so don’t stress it, but knowing the difference will help you get connected.
A Food Bank will be a regional entity, and they probably cannot take your perishables, but they may be able to connect you to a food pantry, soup kitchen, shelter or other distribution center locally. If you are a business, they may be able to give you credit and get credit in return for making the connection more formal. (E.G. local grocers often pass on their perishables to local pantries, etc., that can get it into the maximum number of appreciative and needful hands.
Food Pantries may be the sort that get foods from Food Banks; may be located in a church or church association of assorted kinds; may be inside a shelter of some kind; or may be a side venture of local fire departments. DSSs, Fire Departments, Red Cross, Salvation Armies, & similar can usually make the connection for you if the pantries themselves are not obvious.
Catholic& Presbyterian churches have a igher than average involvement in soup kitchen type ventures, with “Loaves & Fishes” being one of the most popular names.You likely will have strong Youth and/or Veterans programs up that way that can either use or make connections as well. REACH was a common model in the Western Maryland area when I was researching.
Episcopalians, Methodists, and Humanitarian churches are often involved, particularly with “community” meals, as often are senior centers. Each area is different, but most of these tend to favor modeled behavior rather then pressing attendance of services trends.
Salvation Army is hit or miss, but where they actually offer services beyond shelter, their volunteers tend to be compassionate and well organized. Where they offer only large shelters or donation centers funneling the giving elsewhere, they … often feed the stereotypes connected to the organization as a whole, with expectations attached along similar lines as what you’ve said you want to avoid.
If none of that triggers an aha for you for your location, call the local DSS first, and, if it is a staffed station, your local fire station next. You shouldn’t have to make ten calls to find the perfect fit.
This reminds me! They may not do it anymore because i haven’t checked, but the Seattle VA hospital every Tuesday and Thursday, used to have a free produce section right outside the hospital next to a main entrance/on premise. No idea who the people were but they were super nice and its a basically take what you need type of deal.
Maybe the VA Hospital by you might have the same things going on? If not you may be able to create it for your area
