February is for Food Drives Part Two: How can you help fight hunger in the Kearsarge area?

Two part blog series by the Kearsarge Food Hub

Here at the Kearsarge Food Hub (KFH), we’re on a mission to reinvigorate our community within a restorative local food system.

One of the main pillars of this work is increasing food access - and healthy food choices - to support both food and nutrition security for more neighbors. To read more about the critical need to increase food access, read part one of this blog series: What’s the State of Hunger in NH.

To that end, it is now a tradition at the KFH to host a Food Drive every February through our own Sweet Beet Market.

The food drive is a way to invite our community in to contribute to greater food security for Kearsarge area neighbors, especially during the chilly and challenging post-holiday months where food donations tend to decline.

February food drive love at Sweet Beet Market, an important way to have shoppers support food access for more neighbors.

It’s really easy to join in, simply purchase 3+ eligible items from Sweet Beet Market to donate, and get 10% off your entire purchase. We’ve highlighted things in the market like pasta and sauce, beans and rice, peanut butter, natural sweeteners, and more regionally sourced nonperishable goods that provide nutritious meals.

Items collected through the food drive are channeled through Kearsarge Food Hub’s dynamic food donations program, which provides locally and regionally sourced foods to seven food pantry partners all year long.

We also use these items to stock our own on-site Community FREEdge, an open resource where anyone can access the food they need, any time, no questions asked. In collaboration with the Bradford Food pantry, we stock the FREEdge six times a week with fresh produce, grocery items, and meals. Since it’s anonymous, we don’t know exactly how many people use the FREEdge, but we do know it’s emptied every time we fill it. Neighbors have come to rely on this resource as a place to get food, even if they just need to use it once or twice to get through a tough time.

The February Food Drive is just one part of the food donations program at the Kearsarge Food Hub (KFH). It is essential for collecting non-perishable foods to channel to neighbors in need through the winter months, but our food donations are flowing all year long. Three key elements make our food donations program unique at the Kearsarge Food Hub:

1. The vast majority of what is donated is high quality, fresh produce, in high demand by food security partners. While many organizations focus on fighting hunger (which is an important fight!) we’re thinking about how to address both hunger and nutrition at the same time.

2. Most of products we donate are purchased from our local and regional food system, with the exception of foods that are gleaned or rescued. This means that this program provides direct and significant financial support going to our local farmers and producers.

3. Finally, we only donate what our food security partners order. We do not send only what is leftover or in surplus. This allows people more choice in the food products they consume, and minimizes the burden of food waste for food pantries that already struggle with limited capacity.

It’s estimated from our local food pantry partners that food donations from the Kearsarge Food Hub reached over 4,000 clients they serve throughout 2023. That is a huge impact; overall this program grew by 30% from 2022 to 2023. Stay tuned for more astounding information on the reach of Kearsarge Food Hub’s food donations program in our upcoming 2023 Annual Report.

In the meantime, be sure to head over to Sweet Beet Market for your groceries and get 3 extra items for the food drive. We can’t ensure our food pantries and FREEdge are fully stocked this time of year without you! All of our food security programming is made possible by community support.

Can't make it in to the market? Contribute online by purchasing items in bulk or singly at our dedicated Food Drive store here.

NH Eats Local Part 3: How we live free + eat local.

Here we are at the end of August and the end of NH Eats Local month. This month we’ve explored KFH origins, community, how we create access to local foods, economic impact, farm-based education programs, and the team that makes it all possible. Read more in Part 1 and Part 2 of this blog series.

To close out this month, we’re reflecting on how we live free and eat local - and the why behind the work. There are so many layers to the impact of growing, sharing, eating, and choosing local foods when we can, from social nourishment to greater food sovereignty for our community.

Of course, the importance and impact of a vibrant local food system and the work that makes it possible continues all year, day by day.

That's why it's vital to keep the why behind choosing local food front and center, to inspire us all to support our local food system when we can and to remind us of the deep nourishment that this work provides to ourselves and the community.

We think this is beautifully articulated in a video the KFH team did last year with Visit NH for their How I Live Free series. We hope you enjoy it and feel inspired to choose local not just this NH Eats Local Month, but all year long!

NH Eats Local Part 2: Economy, Farm Education, & Team

We’re back for Part 2 of the NH Eats Local blog series. Head here for Part 1 where we explore our origins, community, and ways we create access to local food for all neighbors here at the Kearsarge Food Hub (KFH).

August is NH Eats Local Month and we’re taking a moment to celebrate our local food system and the people that make it possible. It’s also an important opportunity to note some of the challenges we’re experiencing this year in particular like extreme weather patterns, which is all the more reason to learn about our food system and support the folks growing, making, and distributing food in the community. It is, after all, an essential service!

In this edition, we’ll dig into how work at KFH contributes to the local economy, supports educational programs, and relies on a team of dedicated staff to carry out operations day in and day out.

Economy.

Shopping locally when we can boosts the local economy in significant ways. In 2022, shoppers at Sweet Beet Market + Café helped send $350k directly back to nearly 150 local farmers and producers.

This year, it is more important than ever to invest in our local farms through purchasing their goods when we can. The extreme weather has caused significant damage and loss for many local and regional farmers, affecting their bottom line and, inevitably, morale in an already challenging profession.

Farm Manager Pierre and Food Access Manager Cassie here at the Kearsarge Food Hub and Sweet Beet explain more about what’s been going on for farmers and what we can expect as shoppers in this 2.5 minute video.

Programming: Farm Education for all!

Abenaki seeds passed off to a 3rd grader at Baby Beet Farm, where they were planted into three sisters gardens. These gardens will be harvested by the kiddos as 4th graders in the fall, and then the project is passed on to the incoming 3rd graders!

For us here at KFH, and we know for many other organizations working in local and regional food systems, it’s critically important to sew seeds in the youth to grow the next generation of farmers and responsible stewards of our lands and waters.

One way this comes to life is through farm-based educational programs that reach kids in first grade through college age, providing hands-on learning experience on the farm. This not only supports our local kids and students with connection to food, farming, nature, and community, but it is also fulfilling a longer term vision of climate resiliency and food security for our community.

These programs take place on our own Sweet Beet Farm, a space that thrives on organic, regenerative practices that nurture the land. In 2022, we had over 200 unique learners join us on Sweet Beet Farm. Learn more about the wide array of farm-based education offerings here at KFH here.

Team.

The KFH team on Sweet Beet Farm at a staff gathering in late July, 2023 (missing some folks!)

This NH Eats Local Month, we would be remiss not to take a moment to shine a light on all the dedicated teammates on the ground level here at KFH doing the work day in and day out.

The food system, like many sectors, is struggling to find enough folks to carry out the work, causing a lot of strain on food system workers from the farm to the kitchen. We’re very grateful for this team (and are always looking for new teammates to join us!)

What better way to show our gratitude than through poetry?!

The KFH Poem
If you don’t know, you should know ‘em

The peeps who bring you Sweet Beet 
The ones running food donations
The folks up on the farm
Or in admin or communications
On the board and volunteering
Making moves and engineering

Chatting up a customer
Or packing up carrots
Crafting a meal 
Or building out budgets

It’s a labor of love
This thing that we do

Sometimes asking too much
Of me and of you
So we learn to take breaths
To prioritize, subdue

But the heart is there
And the mission is true.

Do you remember why
We do what we do?

To care for each other
To center this land
To heal our aching planet 
And the loneliness at hand

To feed not just bodies
But minds, hearts and souls
To give it our best
And pursue deeper goals

Beyond just this moment,
For generations to come
That joy be restored
And resilience reborn
In a new kind of way
That’s also old and well-worn

We share a vision
That’s coming to be
Making change happen
For self and community
Bringing us closer
Grounding our feet
Trellising tomatoes
Dropping a beet

We get the job done
From start to finish
Here at KFH
It’s just something in us
We care, we learn, we build, we grow
And yes we have a long way to go
But look where we’re at 
Look what we can do
When we’re in it together
Me plus you

These things take time
But one thing we know
We’re riding the waves
And learning as we grow!

NH Eats Local Part 1: Origins, Community, Access.

August is NH Eats Local Month, a fantastic time to savor the bounty of our local food system and celebrate the people who make it all possible.

Here at KFH, August reminds us that at the root of our mission to reinvigorate our community within a restorative local food system is the food we grow, eat and share here on our local lands.

 This time of abundance speaks to our vision of resilient and connected community where everyone is empowered to access healthy food, where local farmers are supported and the land is nourished, and where all people share a common sense of place.

 We're bringing this vision to life by the grace of nature, the power of community, and all the creative and heartfelt efforts throughout local food system. 

In reflection and celebration this August, let’s explore the origins, community, ways we create access to local food here at KFH.

Origins.

Sweet Beet Farm Stand, 2015.

In 2015, five eager young folks and one retired school teacher decided they wanted to help heal their community through food. Starting as Sweet Beet Farm Stand, Kearsarge Food Hub grew from a seed of an idea to a nonprofit now run by a team of over 20 employees and 11 board members.

Through our work over the past 8 years, we've realized that to get to the heart of systemic problems like a disconnected and dysfunctional industrialized food system, we must honor all the layered interconnections.

Each unique KFH program - from Sweet Beet Farm + Market + Café to education programs, food donations, and community building efforts -  feeds the next to create not just systemic change in the local food system, but cultural change grounded in how neighbors trust and support each other, reclaiming and sharing the knowledge of how to grow and eat local, seasonal foods, and how we relate to our natural environment.

The interconnection of Kearsarge Food Hub’s programming in support of local food, farms, and community.

Community.

We believe that everybody has a place in the local food system and a right to access locally grown, caught, and produced foods. It’s this sense of belonging - and connection to place - that we strive to support with our services from Sweet Beet to community events to volunteerism.

Whether you grow food, use the FREEdge, shop in the market, volunteer, donate, learn with us on Sweet Beet Farm, attend community events, partner in shared initiatives, or otherwise - the growing community around the KFH mission is a source of deep appreciation…and empowerment.

It’s what we call the heart beet, fueling all the programs and operations that grow, move and share food throughout the community.

We’ve met some incredible people, forged deep connections, and have learned so much through every step of the journey.

Of course, this community is an ecosystem that includes not only all of us, but the lands, waterways, and non-human life all around us. Without the soil, forests, critters, sunshine, fresh water, and clean air of the New Hampshire landscape, none of the amazing food we enjoy in August (or any time of year) would be possible.

August crops growing on Sweet Beet Farm.

Access.

Here at KFH, creating access to local food for all neighbors is at the core of our work. We love when neighbors shop at Sweet Beet, but we also know this is not an option for many. That’s where a few key food security efforts come into play and are absolutely critical.

SNAP/EBT is accepted at Sweet Beet Market, with 50% off fresh fruits and veggies thanks to the granite state market match. We also have a standing 25% off  Veterans Discount on all products all the time, and a 25% discount in the market + café for all employees.

Additionally, the KFH community supports a robust food donations program that donates over $62k annually through food pantry partners and an on-site Community FREEdge.

Kearsarge Food Hub’s food donations from 2018-2022.

This food donations program is unique in three ways:

1. The vast majority of what is donated is high quality, fresh produce, in high demand by food security partners

2. All the products we donate are purchased from our local community. This means there is direct and significant financial support going to our local farmers and producers.

3. Our food pantries partners are clients, not just recipients of leftovers and surplus. We only donate what they order from us week to week. This allows people more choice in the food products they consume, and minimizes waste. We work with six food pantries on a regular basis, including Abenaki Helping Abenaki Food Pantry, Bradford Food Pantry, Henniker Food Pantry, Hungry Owl at Keene State College, Kearsarge Lake Sunapee Food Pantry, and Warner Food Pantry

Shared initiatives like the Abenaki Seeds Project and FEED Kearsarge harness the power of collaboration in the community to strengthen food security through things like growing more home gardeners, supporting culturally appropriate food access for Native Americans, and rescuing produce from local farms through gleaning projects. 

This is all made possible by our generous donors, shoppers at Sweet Beet, grant funding, and our food security Corporate Sponsors: Naughton & Son Recycling, Secondwind Water Inc., Spring Ledge Farm, and Bar Harbor Bank and Trust.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our savoring and celebrations this NH Eats Local Month!