Fresh produce is offered through a variety of America’s farmers and growers. A farmer is one who grows food in the ground like potatoes, onions, carrots and cabbage. We consider growers to be those who growfood on trees like apple growers, orange, peach, plums, pears and other tree fruits. Growers and farmers always have surpluses due to the way food is grown for the marketplace.

Currently, we are only concentrating on fresh grown produce, realizing that the need for these nutritious foods for our nation’s hungry is great. Nutrition can cure much more than just hunger; it can provide much needed health to this segment of American society. Other commodities like rice and dry beans will eventually be considered.

Almost 100 billion pounds of food is wasted in America each year while 700 million hungry human beings in different parts of the world would have gladly accepted this food. The United States food supply is more diverse and abundant than any other country’s. Food waste occurs at the beginning of food production. From the time of planting on, crops can be subjected to pest infestations and severe weather which cause losses even before harvest. Other forces like temperatures and precipitation remain primary drivers of crop growth. Losses from these can be experienced by all forms of outdoor agriculture. Harvesting machinery can also cause waste, as harvesters may be unable to discern between ripe and immature crops, or collect only part of a crop. Other economic factors, such as regulations and standards for quality and appearance, also cause food waste. Finally, farmers often harvest selectively, preferring to leave to leave crops that are not-to-standard, and therefore likely to be discarded from the general retail chain, in the field where they can be used as fertilizer or gathered for animal feed.

Food waste continues in the postharvest stage; however, the amounts of postharvest loss involved are relatively unknown and difficult to estimate. Regardless, the variety of factors that contribute to food waste, both biological/environmental and socio-economical, would limit the usefulness and reliability of general figures. In storage, considerable quantitative losses can be attributed to pests and microorganisms. This is a particular problem for countries that experience a combination of heat and ambient humidity (between 70 and 90 percent), as such conditions encourage the reproduction of insect pests and microorganisms. Further losses are generated in the handling of food and by shrinkage in weight or volume.

The goal of Fresh Hope Produce is to secure surplus or (unmarketable) produce during or shortly after harvest, when the produce is fresh and full of nutrients. Apples with a little “branch rub” (slight rub in the skin of the fruit) may make them unmarketable for selective produce buyers at the retail level, but are perfectly fine and good to eat for hungry Americans.

Yes, Fresh Hope Produce, Inc. is a non-profit corporation formed in the State of Washington. The charity has applied for a federal category called 501(c)(3). Click here to learn more about 501(c)(3).

Yes, under federal tax code section 170. We suggest that you always confer with your tax advisor in these matters.