The community food bank and the growers’ association have teamed up to launch a new program intended to decrease food waste and increase availability of island-grown produce for low-income islanders.

Organizers of the project are currently advertising for an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer to serve as the coordinator of the project, called Harvest Against Hunger. Caitlin Ames, a Vashon Island Growers Association (VIGA) member, who is also a member of the association’s Food Access Partnership, said central elements of the effort will include establishing a donation stream from island farmers, gardeners and other growers; creating a way to preserve foods to make the excess available in the off-season and educating how to use unfamiliar foods. The goal is to end hunger on Vashon, where in 2016 one in every nine island residents turned to the food bank for assistance.

While hunger and food insecurity are too common on the island, Ames noted that sometimes Vashon contains a glut of fresh food, from plums and apples to zucchini.

“We have often thought, ‘If only we could find a way to get those foods to people before they fall off the trees or the zucchini becomes the size of your car,’” she added.

Now, the plans are in place for this program to do just that — and more.

Ames developed the idea to launch this program on Vashon came when she took a trip to Whidbey Island. There she saw an announcement about Harvest Against Hunger, a program of Rotary First Harvest, which connects farmers, truckers, volunteers and food banks to reduce hunger and food waste. Inspired, she said the returned to Vashon and connected with Vashon Maury Community Food Bank Executive Director Robbie Rohr to see if they could team up and establish such a program on Vashon. Rohr said she was delighted to do so, as she wants to collaborate with as many island organizations as possible, and she and others at the food bank have been wanting to develop a “grow a row” program for the food bank.

With that, they worked together on an application for Rotary, which recently approved them as a host site for an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer to administer the progam. Now, they are looking for the right person to fill the role and say they would be happy to have an islander — or former islander — take it on.

Rotary’s Harvest Against Hunger initiative has its own tenets: sustainable gleaning and produce recovery for “food insecure populations” are central to the program. On Vashon, Ames said the goal wil be to fine tune the program to the needs and wants of the island.

“We are tailoring it to Vashon and what is available to use and what people have said they are interested in,” she said.

The biggest goal of the program on Vashon will be create a gleaning program, Ames said. A lot of volunteer outreach will be included to find people who are growing more food than they can use as well as people who want to harvest, collect and maybe package the food so it can be sent out to those who need it.

“What we are trying to do is create a connection program,” she said. “People look out at their enormous gardens, and we want to find a way to get the extra to people who could benefit from fresh, locally grown food.”

The person who takes on the position will also create a donation station at the farmers market. Market customers could buy an extra bunch of carrots or kale and drop them off there for the program, she said. Farmers who have excess could drop it there, as well, and the station could also be a place for islanders to engage with the project — by offering to assist with gleaning work or volunteering fruit from their orchard, Ames added.

Over the years many people have discussed how best to use excess food on Vashon, and the new coordinator will also be tasked with determining the feasibility of that, Ames said, whether it be hiring a business to do it or creating a new self-funded entity to take that on.

Finally, she said, education is one of the goals as well, from recipe suggestions to classes on canning and using canned foods.

For Rohr at the Vashon Maury Community Food Bank, this program will be welcome in helping meet islanders’ food needs.

Recently at the food bank, clients reported that 30 to 80 percent of their weekly food comes from the food bank, the average amount being above 50 percent, Rohr noted. Additionally, fresh,organic produce is at the top of the list of food items clients say they would like to have access to. Rohr added that food bank staff have been looking at how to best serve those who require special diets, for example, people who have diabetes.

“We want to get more sophisticated in responding to people’s needs,” she added. “No matter what, produce is at the top.”

Applications for the position will be accepted until Sept. 27, with the goal for launching the program in November.

While the right person will need to step up for the job, islander support — from both growers and harvesters — is also essential, organizers say.

“We are going to need a lot of community involvement to make this work,” Ames stressed.

Looking ahead, she said interested islanders can consider volunteering at harvest times, and when they are dreaming about next summer’s gardens in the dark days of winter, they can also consider what they might like to plant to share with their neighbors.

For more information about the Americorps VISTA position, click here .