Maya McFadden photo
Marta Quinones loading food rescued from Havens Harvest.
Sister Luisa Villegas stopped at the Peck Street food rescue and filled her Toyota with a bag of avocados and a few gallons of milk to keep Fairhaven immigrants from going hungry. Landfill.
Sister Villegas, who works for Blatchley Avenue-based Apostolic Immigration Services, had its food pick-up stop Tuesday morning at Heaven’s Harvest’s Erector Square headquarters.
This scene is just the latest example of the daily work of a local food rescue nonprofit. na“Feeding our communities, reducing food waste and rescuing one food at a time. Founded eight years ago, Haven’s Harvest seeks to find more environmentally sustainable and socially responsible ways to handle food that might otherwise end up in the trash. As one of the city’s non-profit organizations, it continues to thrive.
Haven’s Harvest co-founder and executive director Lori Martin and director of operations Lorrice Grant helped volunteers load Sister Villegas’ car Tuesday morning to distribute New Haven’s collected food to the community. and not wasted.
Donations from partners including Trader Joe’s, South Norwalk Bakery and Big Y were delivered to the Peck Street warehouse space by volunteers on Tuesday. Soon after, the food was picked up by other volunteers participating in a food run and delivering the rescued groceries to local organizations in need.
Haven’s Harvest operates out of a 12 x 12 warehouse located in the Erector Square former factory complex at 269 Peck St.
Warehouse space is shared with organizations such as swan and fish For storing food and resources.
Haven’s Harvest rescues food and groceries that would normally be wasted from retail stores, colleges, event venues and other local organizations, and delivers them to 240 locations around the city, including local daycares, schools, health and methadone clinics. Move that food. organizations, and libraries.
For partners like daycares, delivery not only feeds the family by bringing food and staff home, na“Easier nights for parents who can pick up ingredients and pre-cooked meals.” However, food provided by non-profit organizations will not be served in school cafeteria meals.
A partnership with Senior Living Centers allows seniors with fixed incomes and those with dietary restrictions to receive free meals, Grant said.
Click here to donate to Haven’s Harvest.
Stephen DeFeo, Luisa Villegas, Loris Grant, Marta Quinones, Lori Martin.
Last year, Haven’s Harvest rescued 1.5 million pounds of food without getting food from food banks, Martin said.
“Keeping it in the community will give us a faster turnaround to get food to someone’s table tonight than leaving it in the bank,” she said.
In the last seven days, Haven’s Harvest has completed 162 food runs.
“We guarantee that there will be plenty of food to share,” Grant added.
“Today we all have avocado!”
Sister Villegas and volunteer Marta Quinones of Apostle Immigrant Services collected a week’s worth of food to distribute to about 60 clients whose Fair Haven organization provides legal and civil rights services.
Sister Villegas also left several cases of fresh eggs, bread, avocado, and a gallon of milk the nonprofit received the day before.
“Let’s all eat avocado today! said Grant as he packed the fifth case into Villegas’ car.
After taking a few cases of eggs and milk, Villegas cheered. na“Yes, yes, people keep asking for these. She also got Heavens Her Harvest fresh produce, including limes, papayas, pears and plantains.
Martin: “We can’t refuse snacks for volunteers!”
Two 40-pound boxes of sausages were also loaded into Villegas’ car on Tuesday.
After packing a car with 12 boxes of food for immigrant customers at Apostle Immigrant Services, Grant gave Villegas two bags of 20-pound dog food to support his furry family friend.
Fully stocked refrigerator with 40-pound boxes of sausages.
Villegas said the food recovered from Heaven’s Harvest will help Apostolic Immigration Service customers and employees secure an emergency food source.
“Many people have lost their jobs and are working less hours,” added Quinones. na“very helpful. ”
Villegas’ car ready for a food run to Apostle Immigrant Services.
Bags and bags of fresh bread.
Before returning to the Apostle Immigrant Service’s Blatchley Avenue site, Villegas loaded bagged salads, sandwiches, and sushi lunches into the backseat of the car for the organization’s volunteer staff.
“Many of the people we help can also use the food, and we encourage you to remove the stigma around food recalls,” Martin said.
“Food is relational”
Haven’s Harvest has hundreds of volunteers who support its efforts through the Food Rescue Hero app.
An important part of Haven’s Harvest’s work is building relationships with partners, according to Martin. na“There are not only environmental impacts, but also human impacts,” she said.
Haven’s Harvest was co-founded by Martin eight years ago. na“Food is related. ”
“Food doesn’t move without human relationships. We have to trust each other,” added Martin.
Southern Connecticut State University Senior Stephen DeFeo (pictured above) began his internship at Havens Harvest four weeks ago.
Public health major DeFeo rescued groceries from the Yale Schwartzman Center on Tuesday morning, including chicken salad, baked goods, sandwiches and spicy salmon sushi rolls.
The Yale Schwartzman Center’s food rescue on Tuesday took place within an hour of receipt.
To eliminate the stigma around food harvesting, Haven’s Harvest also supports feeder staff and their volunteers. na“we all have mouths
Before heading out on Tuesday, DeFeo packed groceries from the warehouse into boxes to feed himself and his family. na“I’m not working right now, but this will help my family save money on groceries,” he said.
Elaine Henley loads into the car for the Bethel AME church food run.
After helping the Apostle Immigrant Services crew, Martin and Grant were visited by longtime volunteer and board member Sarah Bromley and three-year volunteer Hannah Larkin-Wells.
Larkin-Wells delivered trunks full of Big Y’s groceries around Fairhaven.
Bromley says she started volunteering seven years ago to help Heaven’s Harvest. na“They are intentionally blocked across the country to open doors to basic human needs like food.
“We don’t have the money to help, but we have the time,” she added. na“It just shows that we can’t do without each other. ”
Loris Grant and Elaine Henry.
Bethel Candy Church member Elaine Henry also stopped by the warehouse on Tuesday to deliver groceries to Goffe Street Church.
Inside a warehouse on Harvest Peck Street in Haven.
Sarah Bromley, Stephen DeFeo, Loris Grant, Lori Martin, Hannah Larkin Wells.
Martin said her team is interested in collecting unused food from New Haven Public Schools leaders and the district’s 42 schools.
She often encourages organizations to provide unused food to staff and families within the school community before collecting leftovers from Haven’s Harvest. na“We only want to move when it’s overkill,” Martin said.
Haven’s Harvest 2023 Food rescue impacts through the end of March 2023.
“Our goal is to have it in our hands and mouths where we can eat it,” Grant added.
Martin said Haven’s Harvest is waiting to hear from school district leaders about partnering to save the school’s food waste.
“There’s definitely a place to move food,’ Martin said.