Is it a good idea to throw $373.37 into the garbage?

Is it a good idea to throw $373.37 into the garbage?  We didn’t think so, either. That’s why Transition Sarasota’s Suncoast Gleaning Project and Suncoast Fruit Rescue are so important to our community. With our Suncoast Gleaning Project, our volunteers go to local farms and glean (harvest) unwanted or excess fruit and veggies. That prevents the food from rotting in the field and emitting methane gas into the atmosphere. We take the recused fresh food and donate it to local food banks to feed those in need. With Suncoast Fruit Rescue, we rescue backyard fruit to donate to local food pantries. That keeps it out of our landfill. 

We went to a local grocery store and priced out the items rescued during our last glean. During this glean, we rescued 10 pounds of fennel with bulbs, 18 pounds of kale, 18 pounds of lettuce, 36 pounds of chard, and 18 pounds of collard greens. The total came to $373.37! During one rescue last year, we donated 12,000 pounds of watermelon. We figure the store price of this many watermelons was $4,200!

With the price of food these days, it makes sense to use all the food that we can to feed people. We are passionate about getting fresh, local food to local people that may not otherwise have access due to the higher cost or because it is not available to them with the resources they have.

Rescuing food makes good sense and good cents. Take a look at our website at https://www.transitionsrq.org/get-involved to see all the ways that you can get involved.