Fighting Food Insecurity in Southern California - Andrea Howry with Food Forward

Join Paul Ward as he learns about an incredible nonprofit that redistributes produce to food insecure people in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. Andrea Howry shares how she started volunteering with Food Forward and the logistics behind redistributing over 227 types of produce from backyard farms, wholesale and farmers’ markets.  Food Forward rescues produce that would otherwise go to waste and works with many organizations to redistribute enough food to meet the nutritional needs of over 220,000 people. 

 

Learn more about Food Forward, including how to volunteer at a picking event! 

 

Watch the full episode complete with charts and guides on Paul’s YouTube channel. 

 

What you’ll learn in this week’s episode:

0:00 Introducing Andrea Howry from Food Forward, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending food insecurity in southern California

0:26 Thanks to our sponsor, Opus Escrow

0:27 What is a backyard harvest coordinator with Food Forward?

1:17 Is one tree enough to warrant a call from Food Forward?

1:45 Does Food Forward accept canned goods?

2:06 How does fresh produce get distributed by Food Forward?

2:47 What are the sources of fresh produce?

4:28 Where would the food go if hungry families weren’t being served?

5:14 Food insecurity is a huge problem.

5:52 Where did the idea for Food Forward come from?

6:59 Is Food Forward a combination of employees and volunteers?

7:38 Are there repeat donors?

8:09 Is harvesting from just orchards or gardens, too?

8:33 What happens to crops that don’t have a long shelf life?

9:33 What happens to donations like lemons?

10:18 How does Food Forward find volunteers?

11:59 How much food is prevented from going into the landfill?

13:06 How does food get distributed by Food Forward?

13:58 How big is Food Forward?

14:58 What is the role of a Farmers’ Market Coordinator

15:16 Is a church a hunger relief organization?

15:28 Does Food Forward distribute directly to families?

15:34 What’s in store for the future of Food Forward?

16:32 How can people get in touch with Food Forward to donate produce?

17:21 What does a picking event entail?

17:47 How Andrea Howry started volunteering with Food Forward.

18:51 Redistributing 227 different types of produce to food insecure people.

20:10 Thank you to Andrea for sharing her time and knowledge with the Farm Talk audience.

 

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Have ideas for future episodes? We'd love to answer your questions - leave a comment! For any home buying or home selling needs in the Ventura County area of California, please reach out to Paul@HomeAndRanchTeam.com or visit www.HomeAndRanchTeam.com

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