Food-Related Nonprofit: Hope's Harvest RI
The numbers speak for themselves. In 2019, Hope’s Harvest RI volunteers harvested and rescued 68,000 pounds of locally grown food that would otherwise have been wasted and distributed it to hunger relief agencies throughout the state.
Founding Director Eva Agudelo said “one-off” gleaning events programs had been tried before in the state but before Hope’s Harvest, there hadn’t been one single organization dedicated to gleaning food from farms. It’s an easy concept to grasp, she said, but ultimately, it’s harder to implement than you’d think. Having worked with food pantries, farmers and nonprofits in the past, Eva said she knew she had the skill set to make it a reality.
“I think this work helps individuals who wouldn’t normally be connected to our local farms or food pantries get a better perspective and see how food connects all of us,” she said. “Because ultimately, we need to be engaging with each other and putting our collective skills and resources together to increase food security for everyone.”
