Ag Against Hunger Hits Milestone Record Of 200 Million Lbs. Of Produce Donated

Salinas, CA – The growers, processors and shippers of Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties have something to celebrate today. Over the past 22 years since Ag Against Hunger was founded, a record of over 200 million lbs of fresh nutritious produce has officially been donated to the local non-profit organization. That equals one billion servings of fresh vegetables and fruit to those in need! This milestone is an outstanding community achievement for local agriculture and demonstrates many years of dedication and hard work to feed tens of million of local hungry children, adults, and seniors.

Every year, Ag Against Hunger strives to collect more surplus vegetables and fruit to give to as many food banks as possible. Their recipients aren’t only the homeless, but also the working poor and middle class with day-to-day expenses that mean having to choose between paying rent or buying food. The populations ravaged by poverty and those who have to count on food banks most also have the fewest resources and tend to be populations hardest hit by chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity. The addition of fresh fruits and vegetables can help combat these diseases and end the pain of hunger.

Ag Against Hunger founders are from the agriculture industry and the board of directors is made up of individuals who work for local agribusinesses. Jess Brown, one of Ag Against Hunger’s founding members and Executive Director of the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau states, "When we started the program we thought we were reaching for the sky with a goal of 50,000 pounds of produce in the first year. To now reach 200 million pounds of produce donations is amazing. A big thank you to everyone involved in local agriculture for their on-going commitment to help those in need."

Ag Against Hunger takes care of their local community first by insuring the Monterey County Food Bank, the Food Bank of San Benito County, the Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County and the California Grey Bears in Santa Cruz have all of the fresh produce they need to give to local hungry families, feeding over 158,500 people every year. When local needs are fulfilled Ag Against Hunger distributes produce throughout California and then to other nearby states. To learn more, visit www.agagainsthunger.org and become a fan on Facebook.

Source: Ag Against Hunger