While there are many food pantries and other organizations on the Palouse seeking to meet communities’ needs for food, fresh produce is consistently in demand.
Because of this, Backyard Harvest, a non-profit organization based in Moscow, works to provide high-quality, fresh produce to people in Latah, Nez Perce, Asotin and Whitman counties.
Cheyne Mayer, AmeriCorps member and gleaning coordinator for Backyard Harvest, said the organization’s main goal is improvement of accessibility and availability of fresh produce to community members in need.
The rate of food insecurity in Whitman County is the highest in Washington, according to Feeding America’s annual Map the Meal Gap report, and Latah County’s food insecurity rate is the second highest in Idaho.
“There’s a lot of need around here,” Mayer said. “And I would say being food insecure means not having a lot of access to fruits and veggies because they’re usually expensive.”
The Backyard Harvest webpage notes fruits and vegetables have the highest wastage rates of any food products, with almost half of all fruit and vegetable products being wasted.
Anne Zabala | Courtesy
Mayer said because fresh produce is part of a good diet and infrequently available at food access sites, it guides the mission of Backyard Harvest.
Since Backyard Harvest was founded about 10 years ago, the organization has experienced tremendous growth. What started as just one person taking her extra produce to food access sites has turned into thousands of pounds of produce. According to the Backyard Harvest webpage, the organization grew, collected and distributed more than 32,000 pounds of fresh food in 2018.
Mayer said in 2018, they distributed 6,500 more pounds of produce than in 2017, and the number of repeat volunteers almost tripled with the number of hours doubling.
Alice Ma, dietician and member of the Backyard Harvest Board of Directors, said the vegetable intake of the average American is low compared to what is recommended. Ma said fruits and vegetables are ideally the primary part of the plate, and should make up half of people’s diet.
“We choose to focus on produce because we know how it can help improve health, and we believe that everyone regardless of income, background or circumstance deserves to have access to high quality, fresh produce,” Mayer said.
Anne Zabala, director of Backyard Harvest, said staff members and volunteers work to collect fruit, manage community gardens and facilitate usage of programs such as EBT at farmers markets. Mayer said the organization’s primary programs make use of existing resources.
Cheyne Mayer | Courtesy
They collaborate with community members who have extra fruits and vegetables growing on their land that would have otherwise gone to waste, and they also gather leftover produce after farmers markets, Mayer said.
After collecting produce, Backyard Harvest distributes it to food access centers such as local food pantries, senior meal sites, youth programs and shelters.
One organization Backyard Harvest provides for is the Eggan Youth Center. The youth center provides a free after-school program for students, and throughout the year when produce is available, Backyard Harvest provides produce to those students as a free, healthy snack, said Kellisa Owens, recreation supervisor at the youth center.
“Kids are always hungry,” Owens said. “They love when Backyard Harvest drops off, whether it be carrots or bananas or apples.”
Owens said Backyard Harvest is an important organization because they provide nutritional food to children and people of all ages who might not otherwise have access to it.
To accomplish their goal, Backyard Harvest works with more than 350 volunteers per year, Zabala said.
Where volunteers are most needed is picking fruit, Mayer said. He said volunteers are very critical to Backyard Harvest’s success, and they often spend anywhere between one hour to a whole day picking fruit off trees.
While gardening happens throughout May, most of the harvesting and need for volunteers happens during the summer and early fall, Ma said. Volunteers can sign up on the Backyard Harvest webpage.
Mayer said when volunteers help pick fruit, they are able to take some home, helping to meet their needs for high quality, fresh produce as well. Ma said volunteers can take home up to half of what they pick.
“I think we do a really great job of recruiting volunteers and rewarding them for their efforts and also keeping them engaged and interested,” Ma said.
Zabala said she thinks there has been a resurgence over the last decade in people wanting to be more connected with what sustains them, which includes food and food production. By volunteering with Backyard Harvest, volunteers learn how to maintain a garden, grow and harvest fruits and vegetables and how to prevent food waste, all while making important connections in the community, she said.
“For many people, myself included, it can be the first time that someone has this opportunity, and it can be a life changing experience for making more sustainable and healthy choices,” Zabala said.
Mayer has had fresh produce in his life and found great joy in it, so he enjoys helping people gain access to it, he said. But the most palpable, he said, are the moments when he delivers fresh fruit to children who have not had access to fresh produce — seeing their excitement.
Mayer said people begin forming food habits at an early age, so providing fresh produce to children goes a long way in improving their quality of life: knowing where good food is, what it looks like and what it can be.
While numbers are increasing, Ma said the organization is still working to improve marketing and outreach, especially on social media, so they can begin to make an even bigger impact in the counties they serve.
“We’re preventing food waste, we’re providing healthier options for folks and we’re providing meaningful service opportunities as well,” Zabala said.
Jordan Willson can be reached at [email protected]