Creating the Urban-Rural Connection: Feeding the Animals at Natureberry Farm
Andrew Stankevich
Rochester Food Not Bombs is a free meal program and a food cupboard that distributes an average of 3,000 lb. of perishable groceries on a weekly basis. After we get done with our program, we often have vegetables or baked goods leftover. So we hook up the trailer to the van, hop in the vehicle and take a ride down to Macedon to feed the goats, chickens, turkeys, cows and other animals at Natureberry Farms.
Food producers and distributors have a great amount of excess food, one of the major problems is that it�s mostly perishable food that has to be picked up, redistributed and consumed within a brief period of time before the food becomes inedible. So if a perishable food item is produced in high quantities and doesn�t have a high demand, it often winds up in the dumpster. Think about all the bakeries and doughnut shops around town and all the extra bread that they produce. Most of these places over-produce; to make sure they have enough to sell. And then many of these businesses donate their excess to free meal programs, shelters and other not-for-profits. And NFP�s are notorious for thriftiness & avoiding waste, so many free meal providers try to dump their excess bread on each other, to avoid feeling bad about throwing it in their own dumpster. St. Joseph�s House, where Food Not Bombs runs out of, gets it�s fair share of almost or already stale bread dumped onto it. So after we get done with our serving, we take out rotten produce, leftover produce and baked products down to the farm. We�ve tried to establish connections with local hi-rises for low-income and elderly people, but the building maintenance people will usually shut it down to avoid extra work.
After our serving, members of our crew head down to Jim and Sandy Pecora�s Natureberry Farm, and we have a good time. I�ll often wind up bringing down people who don�t get out of the city too much and really enjoy interacting with the animals. When we drive up the road behind their house, all the turkeys rush up to the fence when the van pulls up. They�re always eager to see us and our garbage bags full of doughnuts.
After the turkeys come the cows, goats and chickens. We grab the big plastic tubs full of rotten fruits and veggies, as well as the more decent stuff, and dump them into feeding tubs for the animals. I always get a kick out of seeing all the chickens flock to peck at the bruised pears and fermented sliced fruit. I try to get heads of lettuce or green beans for the cows; personally feeding the cows is one of the best parts of going down to the farm. The other volunteers feed the bread to the goats and chickens; one of the other volunteers even has a relationship with Wilson, one of the goats. Mr. & Mrs. Pecora usually have some good stories, gas money along with an occasional meat product for our non-vegetarian volunteers.
I think it would be great if more providers of free meals and groceries took their excess baked goods and food waste down to local farms; most farmers that raise animals would appreciate all the stale bread, doughnuts and other goodies. It would be an ideal way to promote a better understanding of society among its different members while reducing waste.
|
| Contact US |
|
News and Events About Us Volunteer Donate Our Cookbook Essays Press Links |
| Contact Us |
|
Rochester Food Not Bombs PO Box 39618 Rochester, NY 14604 [email protected] 585-234-0884 |