Help share the bounty of your summer vegetable garden with your community by hosting a Summer Produce Exchange. Any produce left at the end of the Exchange can be picked up by Farm to Pantry and delivered to a food distribution organization to help our community members in need. For Produce Exchanges held in Southern Sonoma County, reach out to Petaluma Bounty for pick up. For information on how to start an Exchange, see "Download Resources" below.
With a resurgence of home and community gardening, it may be time to think about a summer produce exchange. The Sebastopol Grange started a successful event which is held twice a month in 2019. People bring their surplus home grown vegetables, fruit, and plant starts at 5 p.m. on a Tuesday, sharing with one another. Forty-five minutes later, Dena Allen, co-host, begins rounding up what’s left to take to the local interchurch pantry.
Now the Sonoma County Food Recovery Coalition is looking for other sites, especially community gardens, which might host a swap. While the emphasis is on building supportive neighborly connections among home food growers, extra produce again can be gathered and delivered to a local food pantry. Or a local gleaning or food rescue group can be engaged to pick up and deliver what’s left at the end of the event. Click here to see a Fall 2021 article on the Sebastopol Produce Exchange.