Crops are coming in all over the Midwest, and since Indiana is home to more than 60 thousand farms, food banks are hoping to be able to get fresh, healthy produce to hungry people in the state. The Farm to Food Bank program is looking for growers who have surplus or blemished produce that they can buy at low cost to donate to shelters and pantries. Emily Weikert Bryant with Feeding Indiana’s Hungry says they work with farm organizations to distribute donations, but they’re also looking for small growers who’d like to help.
Weikert Bryant says it’s a win-win because farmers get paid for what they’d normally not be able to sell and food banks can pay below wholesale prices for Indiana-grown surplus.
Weikert Bryant says the big winners are those who can’t afford to feed their families.
More than 15 percent of Indiana’s residents were food insufficient last year, according to a new report released by the Food Research and Action Center. This put Indiana in the middle among states at 22nd in the nation. The farm-to-table program is funded through the department of Agriculture and through private donations.