Salem Harvest is an all-volunteer community harvesting organization begun in January 2010.

We have applied for designation as a non-profit (501c3) organization. Salem Harvest supports Marion-Polk Food Share through donations of produce.

What Salem Harvest Does

We connect neighbors to fresh fruits and vegetables growing both on farms and in backyards which would otherwise go to waste.

The idea is simple:

• Commercial growers as well as private homeowners who have trees, bushes, vines or entire orchards and fields that produce more fresh fruit or vegetables than they can harvest, register their crop on our website. 
• Salem Harvest organizes harvest parties to gather in the fresh produce.
• Volunteers sign up to harvest the produce that might otherwise languish in the field or orchard. 
• Salem Harvest gives half of each harvest to neighborhood food pantries affiliated with Marion-Polk Food Share, and harvest volunteers take home the other half for their own pantries and to share.
  

Community harvesting organizations like Salem Harvest help the hungry among us while strengthening neighborhood ties and living more sustainably.   Last, but not least, picking fruit and vegetables in our valley is a fun, meaningful way for families teach a new generation where our food comes from and mentor the act of giving.

Alleviating Hunger

In 2010, between 15-17% of families in Marion and Polk counties faced food insecurity.  Each week, Marion-Polk Food Share, one the chief sources for emergency food assistance in our region, distributes nearly four semi-truckloads of food to hungry children, women and men in the Mid-Willamette Valley.  Yet that 133,000 pounds of food each week is still not enough to fill the need. And families dearly need fresh produce in their emergency food boxes; such fresh food is hard to come by. For many families who have not yet eaten out of an emergency food box provided by MFPS or a food pantry, they still can only afford cheap, filling calories, so nutritious food, especially fresh fruit and veggies, doesn’t make it into their grocery cart. 

This is where Salem Harvest steps in.  Each handful of cherries, apples, or pears that falls to the ground could be filling the belly of a hungry three-year-old.

When Salem Harvest volunteers participate in a harvest party, they donate at least half of the fruits of their labor which Salem Harvest in turn donates to MPFS.  We thank our Salem Harvest volunteers who are helping struggling families bring home free, fresh fruit they might not otherwise have access to. 

Harvest Parties are also an excellent way for people who are facing mounting food insecurity in their own lives to help themselves with dignity.  All pickers can take home up to half of their harvest, filling their own pantries. At the same time, Salem Harvest pickers get the satisfaction of helping others who are also struggling because all pickers donate at least half of what they harvest to the hungry.  This gives everyone a chance to be of service and help themselves at the same time.

Building Community

Harvesting fruit together whether in a private backyard or on a 1000 acre farm creates community and strengthens friendships. It gives us an opportunity to swap recipes while we work side by side, and it brings people together for a good cause. Together, our small individual contributions add up to something greater than the sum of its parts. In 2010, over 1600 Salem Harvest pickers participated in nearly 60 harvest parties, gathering in over 53,000 pounds of fresh produce. Nearly 29,000 pounds were donated to our partner, Marion-Polk Food Share, and its affiliated food pantries.

While most of our pickers will experience Salem Harvest through Farm Harvest parties, Backyard Harvests involving just a handful of pickers provide a welcome opportunity for neighbors to build those meaningful connections that help strangers become acquaintances and then friends.  Harvesting backyard trees keeps properties free of rotting fruit, creating cleaner, more welcoming neighborhoods. We can also provide a valuable service for busy, elderly or disabled tree owners who can’t pick their own fruit.

Living Sustainably and Learning Where our Food Comes From

Our fruit doesn’t have to come from 500 miles away. Eating locally lessens the need for energy-intensive shipping, warehousing and packaging, and reduces our impact on the environment.  What’s more local than the plums on your neighbor’s tree or onions from a field just 15 miles from downtown Salem?  Harvest parties reduce our impact on the Earth through helping people living simple, sustainable lifestyles.

Salem Harvest can help create awareness of our abundant edible landscapes in our own neighborhoods and of the bounty of local farms.  As individual families participate in an onion harvest or winter squash pick at a farm not far from where they live, they gain a better understanding of where our food comes from and the crucial role of local farmers in growing what we eat.