The Food Recovery Project

The Society of St. Andrew is dedicated to gleaning America's fields and feeding America's hungry. We provide healthy, nutritious produce to society's most vulnerable through our innovative, cost-effective Food Recovery Operation. We accomplish our mission through three programs: the Potato and Produce Project, the Gleaning Network, and Harvest of Hope. Our simple and common-sense food recovery methods enable us to provide food to the hungry for just pennies per serving. The Society of St. Andrew (SoSA) is unique among hunger relief organizations for many reasons. Listed below are four reasons that set us apart:

1. The produce we salvage and deliver to agencies serving the poor is “cosmetically challenged”, or food that cannot be sold because of market forces. We reclaim this surplus produce at two points: the farm level and packing houses. We then deliver it to agencies serving the poor while keeping our operating costs at a minimum.

2. We supply fresh fruits and vegetables vital for nutrition, rather than high caloric "filler food" to society's most vulnerable. Fresh produce is naturally low-fat, low-sodium and full of vitamins and minerals. Therefore, we help to improve the health and well-being of those we serve, as well as give them full stomachs.

3. Unlike many organizations, we do not charge handling fees. We provide fresh, nutritious food to agencies serving the poor at no cost to them, which helps them stretch their already tight budgets.

4. We build community by bringing people together in farmers' fields or around "dumped" loads of potatoes to work collectively in the cause of helping their needy neighbors.

Microsoft products allow the Society of St. Andrew to optimize our mission delivery and increase our effectiveness as an organization. Recently, the Society of St. Andrew launched a new, updated website, which was created using Microsoft FrontPage. Our website is the premier source of information about our organization, and we are very happy and proud of the final product.

Our website not only educates the public about SoSA and what we do, it also is an important tool used in our fundraising efforts. Now, more than ever, the need for food is great. Food banks across the nation are struggling to keep food on the shelves as their client bases continue to expand as a result of the deteriorating economy. SoSA’s gleaning programs are a common sense solution to help meet the growing need. The food is available and will go to waste if not for the gleaning efforts of our organization and others. But, in order to recover this excess food, we need the funds to do it. We are able to convey this message to potential donors very effectively through our website and now donors can give directly on the website as well.

In addition, SoSA’s website is an excellent recruiting tool for volunteers. We rely on over 30,000 volunteers each year to pick up leftover produce from fields and to bag produce that we salvage by the truck load. On our site, users can request more information about gleaning events and also register to participate.

In summation, the launching the Society of St. Andrew’s new website has had a tremendous positive impact on our organization. Through our website, potential donors learn more about our effective hunger relief programs and also have a means to give electronically. Potential volunteers also learn about gleaning events where they can give of their time to help feed their hungry neighbors. SoSA’s programs are a success because of our loyal donors and also our volunteers. Thanks to Microsoft and Techsoup, we were able to use FrontPage to create an excellent website to showcase what we do and how we do it. Bottom line: our website will ultimately help feed more hungry Americans, and that is our mission.