The John Deere Foundation has announced an $18.5 million Farm-to-Plate strategy to improve food security in the United States by tying farmers more closely to food banks and the families they serve, Farms.com reported. The multi-year plan rests on two partnerships: $17 million over three years to Feeding America and $1.5 million to The Farmlink Project.
More than $13 million of the funding goes to food security programmes in Iowa, including a new Farm to Food Bank initiative that will connect more than 100 farmers with regional food banks. Through Feeding America, the foundation will expand food sourcing and distribution across a national network of food banks, state associations, regional cooperatives, pantries and meal programmes.
The Farmlink partnership targets waste. Over three years it is expected to rescue about 6.4 million pounds of fresh produce that might otherwise go unused, providing about 5.3 million meals to more than 273,000 people and supporting 30 to 60 farming operations in several states. Food can be left in the field when markets change or transport and supply chains are disrupted, and recovery programmes aim to get it to people instead.
"By connecting them directly with food banks, we're creating new opportunities for producers and helping more families access nutritious food closer to home," said Deanna Kovar, president of John Deere's Worldwide Ag & Turf Division for Production and Precision Ag. Feeding America chief executive Denis McDonough said the money would help food banks "build stronger, more direct relationships with farmers in Iowa and across the country". "Too much of America's fresh food still never leaves the farm," said Eliza Blank, chief executive of The Farmlink Project.
The plan also includes volunteering: from 2026 through 2029, about 22,000 John Deere employees are expected to take part in meal-packing and hunger-relief events, packing up to 1.8 million meals. Founded in 1948, the foundation has given more than $400 million to charitable causes.
Photo: Petty Officer 3rd Class Kyle Carlstrom, US Navy / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Source: Farms.com
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