When “Farm to Table” Breaks Down: A New Model For Food Systems

Historically, food systems in the U.S. have placed yield and profit above environmental health, nutrition, and human rights. Food Rescue organizations such as Haven’s Harvest are at the intersection of food insecurity, environmental issues, and social justice—we work to distribute good food that would otherwise be put into our waste streams where it would produce enormous amounts of greenhouse gases—and transport it hyper-locally to organizations that make it easier for people with food insecurity to access it. We rely on a large volunteer corps to use an app to quickly “rescue” the food when it’s about to be tossed, and drive it to senior centers, daycare centers, schools, faith-based organizations, affordable housing units, and other places where there may be food insecurity. While we focus on proteins and perishable, prepared foods, we also rescue vast amounts of good, edible produce from grocery stores and farmer’s markets. This workshop will dive deeper into our model and share some ways we hope to partner with Connecticut’s farmers.