Harvest Project Food Rescue was started by Danae Gutierrez in the summer of 2014 as a community project. It focuses on assisting underserved communities in Dallas County. Harvest Project Food Rescue has redistributed over 2 million pounds of produce and has fed over 15,000 families in the Dallas area. Orchard At The Office has been a steadfast supporter of Harvest Project since 2017, consistently donating hundreds of pounds of fresh fruit each week.
The program provides fresh produce to families in need at no cost. It is able to do this by partnering with produce companies in Dallas that donate fruit and vegetables. However, the process of “food rescue” goes beyond distribution. Participants in the programs receive valuable tips on preparation and storage.
Harvest Project is a fully self-supporting volunteer organization. Volunteers arrive early to sort and display the produce available that day. Dignity and respect for others are cornerstone values of Harvest Project. Because the volunteers are receiving contributions, and getting the first pick of the produce is a perk, everyone’s in the same boat.
Participants and volunteers come from all over the globe. One would expect this when dealing with a community as culturally-varied as DFW. “Food insecurity can affect everyone,” Gutierrez says, “and it was humbling for me to find that even I had assumptions of what need looked like, and every week I see proof that it’s a challenge that transcends cultures.”
Orchard At The Office, the largest provider of fresh fruit delivery to offices in Texas, is proud to donate hundreds of pounds of nutritious, delicious, cosmetically imperfect fruit to Harvest Project Food Rescue each week. If you are interested in learning where Harvest Project Food Rescue is distributing produce each week, please visit http://www.harvestproject.co/partners
If you would like to make a donation to Harvest Project Food Rescue, visit http://www.harvestproject.co.