The Salvation Army USA Central Territory’s Post

Did you know that if just 25% of the food lost or wasted was saved it would be enough to feed 870 million hungry people?! You can make a difference! Volunteering at a local food bank is a fantastic way to tackle food waste and hunger at the same time. Last Month, our Sales and Marketing team had an opportunity to assist Northwest Harvest in bagging over 8,000 lbs of beans! These beans will provide 3,300 meals in the Yakima valley. Here's how you can help at a food bank: 🍎Sorting and Packing: Food banks rely on volunteers to sort donated food, ensuring everything is fresh and ready for distribution. 🥪Meal Prep: Many food banks prepare meals for families and individuals in need. Your help with chopping, packaging, or cooking can make a big impact! 🍲Food Rescue: Some food banks pick up perfectly good food from restaurants or grocery stores that would otherwise be thrown away. You could be part of the rescue team! Thank you again to everyone’s involvement in helping bring food to over 800 families in need.

❔❔Did You Know....❔❔ Our donations are made possible because of the food rescue programs larger organizations like Midwest Food Bank manage so that we can feed our community. 🌿 Donated items come in the form of: Close-dated items: Products that are close to their expiration date and don't have enough time to reach store shelves. Overruns: Extra products made beyond what was forecasted, often cheaper to keep the production line running. Mislabeled items: Products with packaging errors, like missing ingredients or allergen information. Relabeling is too costly, but we have the volunteer resources to repack and relabel these items. Damaged or discontinued goods: Items with damaged packaging or products that are no longer sold in stores. -Midwest Food Bank: How Midwest Food Bank and Our Partners Fight Food Waste Together You can donate too! Help us out by visiting https://lnkd.in/eq_RtUVy for more information.🥖🐟

For many Indigenous families living on reserves, accessing fresh groceries means driving an average of 45 minutes to the nearest store, only to face limited options when they get there. This creates a barrier to accessing healthy, nutritious food. Fresh Routes is working to close this gap. With our Mobile Grocery Stores, we bring food right to the reserves, offering fresh, affordable food where it’s needed most. But to keep serving these communities and expand our reach, we urgently need a walk-in cooler. The cooler will allow us to store and transport more food safely and ensure that families on reserves don’t have to worry about the next time they can access fresh produce. With your help, we can keep this vital service going and break down barriers to food access. Please donate today to help us reach our $15,000 goal. Together, we can make a lasting impact!  https://bit.ly/4e7PNeP #SupportIndigenousCommunities #BreakDownBarriers #FoodAccessForAll #FundraisingForImpact #DonateNow #FreshRoutes

Are you a farmer, or do you know a farmer (even a small one)? If so, this post is for you. Here's a way to help with food insecurity (and there's a potential tax advantage for donating crops (as a CPA, I can't not help but mention that 😉)). #dailybreadfoodbank #farmers #taxdeduction

🪴 FRESHFARM believes that everyone deserves access to healthy, locally grown produce. This is why we offer the Market Share, our weekly produce box, at steeply discounted rates for individuals experiencing food insecurity in the Washington, DC metro area. Your donation this spring can directly support neighbors using SNAP benefits by helping them access weekly fresh food at a low cost. 🪴 Last year, the generosity of our community ensured that 346 low-income shoppers received healthy, farm-fresh food every single week. Your gift will make a real difference for local families. One neighbor, Marina, explains, “The share has been a huge help, to just have more food, and to be able to buy less from the grocery store. My two children eat way more fruits and vegetables; they generally eat way healthier.” 🪴 Every Market Share purchased through donations also directly supports small- and mid-sized farmers in the FRESHFARM network, many of whom are traditionally under-represented in farming. With a gift today, you can support local farmers and help your neighbors bring home local produce. 🪴 Your gift of $80 provides a month of groceries for a family of four; or a gift of $20 can support the family for a week. We can lower food insecurity in our region, one family at a time, but we can only do it with the help of caring neighbors like you! Donate to put affordable food in reach for your neighbors!: https://bit.ly/3QDLpdZ #FRESHFARM #SpringAppeal . . . #dcfarmersmarkets #foodaccess #foodsecurity #SNAPmatters #SNAPEBT #SNAPacceptedHere #mdfarmersmarkets #vafarmersmarkets #foodismedicine

🍽️ Ever wondered about the difference between a food bank and a food shelf? Let's break it down! 🏦 Food Bank: Think of it as a large warehouse that collects, stores, and distributes food to various community organizations like shelters, soup kitchens, and pantries. Food banks often work on a regional or national level, serving a wide area and collaborating with food producers, retailers, and donors to gather surplus food. 🛒 Food Shelf: On the other hand, a food shelf is typically a smaller-scale operation located within a community or neighborhood. It directly serves individuals and families in need by providing them with groceries and essential food items. Food shelves rely heavily on local donations and volunteer efforts to keep their shelves stocked and support their community members. Both play critical roles in combating hunger and food insecurity, but they operate in slightly different ways to serve their communities effectively. Whether you're donating to a food bank or volunteering at a food shelf, your contribution makes a real difference in the lives of those facing hunger.

Farmers, now is the time to think about Crop Gifting! 🌾 Gifting crops to a nonprofit you love can have greater tax advantage than post-sale cash donations. This is because federal, state and self-employment taxes are also not assessed on the value of the donated crop. Learn more in this short video ↓

Can someone help me estimate the TRUE cost of this broccoli for our local farmers, community, and environment? The journey of moldy broccoli from Mexico: The broccoli was bought in bulk at a very low cost. It passed through at least four warehouses (Mexico, California, Philadelphia, Northeastern PA) before it was "expected" to fight hunger. 🌍🚛 However, the broccoli did not feed people. The organization sent it to a hog farm. This process steals resources from the food pantry, yet the charitable food system claims the food as served and CO2e saved. It's time to consider the broader impact of the charitable food system and support sustainable, local solutions. 🌱🌽 #FoodDignityMovement #FoodDignity #FoodasPower #SustainableFoodSystem #FoodSustainability #FoodFreedom #FoodEquity #NewSystem #SystemChange #SupportLocalFarmers #responsiblespending

It might shock people to learn that it costs more than $350,000 each year to operate our markets. From permit fees to portalet rentals, market expenses aren’t exactly the most exciting things to talk about; but the costs are significant for a market of our scale. To keep the market affordable for small-scale, local farmers, vendor fees cover only half of the costs to operate the market. Remaining expenses are funded through charitable contributions made by community members like you. We just learned we will be able to open our markets a month early — but we need your help to make it happen. Join our community of Green City Market Growers today with a monthly or one-time donation: bit.ly/gcmgrowers. If every person who reads this becomes a GCM Grower by giving $25/month, together, we could fully fund this work for the entire year before the season even starts. That’s less than $1 a day to build a more resilient, sustainable food system alongside our farmers. #greencitymarket #donate #sustainability #agriculture #farming #chicagostrong