Excess crops fueling food banks

George Ahearn had heard about farmers in Eastern Washington who were giving away potatoes and onions and who wanted to know if someone had a truck he could borrow to haul the discarded crops to Western Washington food banks.

He was quickly able to round up a convoy of four trucks, including two with trailers, and made the trip east, helping provide quite a bounty for local food banks.

“We brought back 9.36 tons when my original goal was [one ton],” Mr. Ahearn said.

EastWest Food Rescue is now a registered nonprofit organization, having delivered more than 2.4 million pounds of crops to more than 160 food banks.

“The whole thing started because of COVID,” said Nancy Balin, who answered Mr. Ahearn’s initial request and is now one of three directors of the program. Unemployment was spiking everywhere, along with the need for food.

“People who had never needed food before needed food banks, and these farmers have potatoes that they need to get rid of,” Ms. Balin said.

Mr. Ahearn read a story about the predicament of farmers in his hometown, prompting him to want to do something. So he contacted Terragold Farms in his hometown.

“Owner AJ Ochoa offered five semi-loads [of potatoes],” Mr. Ahearn said. “I said, ‘I’ve got a private vehicle, and I can’t take that.‘ He said, ‘Just come take what you need.‘”

Mr. Ahearn contacted food banks, and while they wanted the potatoes, along with onions being donated by Target AG Production in Othello, they couldn’t take them loose and not in bags.

That is when Zsofia Pasztor, founder and owner of Farmer Frog, a nonprofit that allows children and families to grow food for themselves, stepped in.

She offered crates to put the produce in, and already had a distribution system set up with food banks for other programs she was running.

EastWest Food Rescue has grown significantly since the initial convoy in the beginning of May. Mr. Ahearn, Ms. Balin (the organization’s president) and Ms. Pasztor are the founders and directors.

“The whole thing was extremely organic and took on a life of its own almost immediately,” said Ms. Balin.