Throughout Marin and beyond, there are numerous groups that address food security through sharing, gleaning, community gardens, and more.
If you know of such a project or organization that is not listed below, please send the link to: DustinKahn@gmail.com
Marin County
Marin Organic Glean Team
Gleaning and delivering local certified organic products to participating schools, camps, and underserved communities throughout Marin County
http://www.marinorganic.org/organic_school_lunch.php#glean
Open Garden Project
Weekly meetings of backyard gardeners to exchange excess fruit, vegetables and other goodies from their gardens in Mill Valley, San Rafael, San Anselmo, Fairfax and Novato.
http://opengardenproject.blogspot.com/
Marin Garden Matchmaker
A service which creates matches between people with land, but no time, ability or interest in gardening, with those who love to garden but have no land. As a result, they share land, grow food, and build sustainable community.
http://maringardenmatchmaker.org/
Respecting Our Elders
An all-volunteer organization which gathers fresh food that would otherwise be thrown out from Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Paradise Market and other sources, and immediately distributes it to 20 senior homes and others in the community.
http://www.respectingourelders.org
Food System Initiative
Weekly garden produce swaps, food co-op, gleaning, and other food-related activities in Point Reyes Station
http://groups.google.com/group/food-system-initiative
Marin Community Food Bank
Providing quality food to people in Marin County who need nutritional assistance
http://www.marinfoodbank.org/
Sonoma County
Daily Acts
Partnering with municipalities to plant permaculture food forests on public land. Projects begun in 2009 include the City Hall and the Cavanagh Recreation Center in Petaluma, and a city park in Cotati.
http://www.dailyacts.org/
Petaluma Bounty
Helping folks to grow their own healthy food, redistributing surplus food, and providing affordable fresh food to low-income families and seniors in Petaluma
http://www.petalumabounty.org/
Sonoma County Harvest Share
Links farmers and backyard gardeners with abundant produce to people who can use it
http://sonomaharvestshare.ning.com/
San Francisco Bay Area
Richmond Grows Seed Lending Library
Provides, in addition to seeds, education about growing and saving seeds. It is our hope that seed library patrons will return some seeds from their harvest to make the library self-sustaining. The Seed Library is open to all residents of the greater Richmond area at no charge. It is maintained by volunteers and supported by donations.
http://www.richmondgrows.org/index.html
North Berkeley Harvest
We will gladly pick up or harvest your unused fruit and donate it to local food initiatives in Berkeley.
http://northberkeleyharvest.org/
Food Not Bombs
East Bay FNB provides five free meals per week in Berkeley and two per week in Oakland, made from produce gleaned at the end of local farmers’ markets.
ebfnb.org
Spiral Gardens
Creating healthy sustainable communities by promoting a strong local food system and encouraging the productive use of urban soil in Berkeley
http://www.spiralgardens.org/
Forage Oakland
This Oakland project is about viewing food as a shared pleasure and a shared resource, redistributing it to those who will enjoy it.
http://forageoakland.blogspot.com/
People United for a Better Life in Oakland
Youth bike their way to harvest excess produce from Oakland’s back yards and provide this bounty to Oakland’s low income seniors who lack access to healthy produce.
http://peopleunited.org/uyh.html
Free Farm Stand
Helping make locally grown, fresh and nutritious organic produce accessible to all, especially those families and individuals on low-incomes and tight budgets in San Francisco
http://freefarmstand.org/
SF Glean
A volunteer project that harvests fruit and nut trees and donates the harvest to various food programs in San Francisco communities
http://sfglean.org/
Garden Registry
An online map and social networking tool created to connect city gardeners and to locate current or potential food production zones within the city of San Francisco
http://gardenregistry.org/
Village Harvest
Organizing and coordinating backyard fruit harvesting, and providing education on fruit tree care, harvesting, and food preservation in the San Francisco Bay Area
http://villageharvest.org/
Sustainable Community Gardens
A non-profit organization dedicated to the renewal of local, sustainable food systems throughout Silicon Valley
http://www.sustainablecommunitygardens.org/
Central and Southern California
Neighborhood Produce Exchange
People sharing excesses from their gardens in San Luis Obispo via a web-based system
http://www.neighborhoodproduce.org/
Gardens of Gratitude
Growing Food and Community in Santa Monica
http://www.gardensofgratitude.org/
Fallen Fruit
A mapping and manifesto for free fruit in Los Angeles
http://www.fallenfruit.org/
Urban Fruit Harvesting
Picking neighborhood fruit from overflowing fruit trees and donating the fresh fruit to those in need in Riverside
http://urbanfruitharvesting.blogspot.com/
Other Areas
Urban Edibles
A community database of wild food sources in Portland, OR
http://urbanedibles.org/
Portland Fruit Tree Project
Empowering neighbors to share in the bounty and care of urban fruit and nut trees in Portland, OR
http://portlandfruit.org/
Backyard Harvest
Harvesting and collecting underutilized fruits and vegetables, and redistributing them to those with the greatest need. In California, Idaho and Washington.
http://www.backyardharvest.org/
Veggie Trader
A resource for bringing good food and good people together
http://www.veggietrader.com/index.php
The Natural Hub
A directory of information about gathering and hunting worldwide
http://www.naturalhub.com/gather_hunt_food.htm
