Volunteers Transition Produce to Plates

This growing season, Transition Sarasota started a new pilot program for collecting produce left over from farmers markets to give to local organizations to feed those in need. Forty percent of food produced in the United States is wasted and 38% of households in Sarasota are struggling to afford basic costs of living like food, rent, healthcare, and utilities. Feeding people using excess resources is a logical step. We are working to fill the hunger gap while creating community-driven solutions for a more connected and less wasteful food system.

Transition Sarasota volunteers box and pick up unsold, excess, or donated produce from local farmers market vendors. The produce is then distributed through local organizations that work with those experiencing food insecurity. Picking up produce directly from markets saves the produce from the compost heap. It can be used quickly, providing fresh, healthy produce to people who would otherwise not be able to afford it.  

Through the generosity of market farm vendors like Mondragon Farms, Worden Farms, Aurora Fresh Produce, Honeyside Farms, Fresh Harvest, and Peach Pit Farm, Transition Sarasota has donated close to 7,000 pounds of fresh produce from farmers markets. That’s over 20,000 plates of produce for hungry people! Food pantries and kitchens are typically oversaturated with packaged foods, so receiving freshly-harvested produce makes a big impact.

The farmers market pilot program has been a great success and farm vendors are excited to be a part of the program again when the new growing season starts in October. It means a lot to the farmers that they have another way to be involved in supporting our community. It also saves them time hauling what is to them small amounts back to the farm. This new program is just one of the many ways that Transition Sarasota works toward local food equality and food waste awareness.