Agricultural News
University Student Finds Unique Way to Connect Farmers, Food Banks And Hungry People by Establishing Farmlink Project
Tue, 05 Jan 2021 09:06:58 CST
When the pandemic shutdown university campuses, Stanford University student James Kanoff joined with other college students to help feed hungry people in a unique way.
They created the Farmlink project.
Kanoff was recently interviewed by Radio Oklahoma Agriculture Network Associate Farm Director and Editor KC Sheperd.
Farmlink is on a mission to connect the billions of pounds of unsold produce to communities in need, Kanoff said.
Farmers were forced to dump fresh produce when restaurants shuttered, leaving unemployed workers standing in long lines at food banks.
When farmers are stuck with produce, we connect them to a community in need rather than sending the produce to the landfill, Kanoff said.
We can help support farmers, people who are hungry and the environment all at the same time, he said.
The project started in April (2020) when the pandemic left farmers stuck with millions of pounds of food while there were long lines at food banks. So, we started calling farmers and driving the produce to the food banks, Kanoff said.
Since then, we have built an amazing organization to move pretty much anywhere in the U.S., he said.
It has been really impactful to be able to support and help people along the way, he said.
This problem existed before but the pandemic put it in front of our faces, Kanoff said.
Today Farmlink, which originated in California, is in over 45 states and with the goal to move at least a million pounds a week.
With over 5.5 million pounds donated so far, California leads all other states, followed by Florida, Texas, Mississippi, Arizona, Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Simply go to our website and let us know how we can help, Kanoff said. We will even cover the costs associated with gathering and transporting the product.
The foodbanks are heroes as they have seen double and triple the demand now and I am just grateful to support them, Kanoff said.
To learn more about Farmlink, click here.
Click on the listen bar below to hear more of KC's interview with James Kanoff.
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