I have an idea on how to help food pantries get more local and fresh produce during the season.
There are several farmer’s markets around the city, all with vendors that bring alot of produce during the summer season. Could an organization organize and train volunteers to make the rounds at these markets and talk to the farmers about contributing their unsold produce at the end of each market day to local food pantries? There would need to be a few or more volunteers to make the contacts. The volunteer would arrange to pickup the produce at the end of market day or at a set location that same day and take it to the food pantry.
Volunteers could not be at all the markets right at closing time, so arrangements could be made with local businesses for the produce to be left at their location for an hour or so until the pickup is made.
Volunteers would need to work Saturday mornings and other market days and arrange for produce to be set aside and then make the pickups.
Volunteers would need to be able to issue a tax deductible receipt to the vendors. This could be filled out at pickup and mailed to the vendors. It could be emailed if vendor wishes.
I wonder if there are other similar models that do this?
