There is a great deal of waste in commercial farming. Vegetables with blemishes, sizes that are too small or large, or unusual shapes are often deemed unsuitable for retail sale and are not harvested. Food Banks in many communities organize volunteers to harvest this food that would otherwise be discarded. This is perhaps the most common way that fresh produce currently finds its way to food banks. Recently however, there has been a trend towards farming specifically for food banks. It is difficult to know with certainty, but the Food Bank Farm here in Sault Ste Marie, may be the first Canadian example of this new approach. To learn about food bank farms in the United States, check out this article:
http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/in-plain-sight/field-fork-food-banks-start-farming-feed-needy-n117471
Bees are important pollinators on our farm, and the successful production of many vegetables is dependant upon their activity. Unfortunately, bee populations are declining all over the world. At the Food Bank Farm we are doing our part by avoiding the use of pesticides that have been linked to bee decline, and by planting flowers on the farm to support biodiversity and provide a food source for our bee population. In the future, if donations support us, we would like to add bee hives on the property. For more information on Bee Decline, please see this article.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2017/0111/Bumblebees-put-on-endangered-US-species-list.-How-to-help
Maple syrup is a product that we have been making on the farm every spring for many years now. The volume of syrup that we are able to produce is very small, often only 25-30 litres in a season. With the start of the Food Bank Farm we have decided to sell some of our syrup and use the funds to help support the operation of the farm. A few years ago, I wrote this brief article that describes the process of making maple syrup.
{{Link to Maple Syrup Article}}
