Matt Burke, a 2017 Open Society Institute Community Fellow, started the Baltimore Free Farm Food Rescue as an expansion of the Baltimore Free Farm, an established collective of gardeners and activists who want to provide access to healthy food for everyone.
“There are a lot of people in our communities who are forced to buy over-priced, unhealthy, processed foods from gas stations and take-out restaurants,” Burke said. “Meanwhile, just miles away from any of these neighborhoods there’s a high volume of wasted food.”
Burke decided to establish a network of 12 give-away sites throughout Baltimore that will distribute free nutritious, repurposed food. The model is simple. “By distributing repurposed food to under-served communities, we can avoid putting perfectly good food into landfills to rot,” says Burke.
Baltimore Free Farm headquarters are in an eclectic space on Ash Street in Hampden, just under the Jones Falls Expressway, with a repurposed street sign announcing “You Are Here.” On this day, Matt Burke pulls up to the curb for the Wednesday afternoon giveaway just back from the Maryland Wholesale Produce Market in Jessup. His car is weighed down with several hundred pounds of edible but rejected fruits and vegetables. This Hampden location is one of 8 currently operating giveaway sites around Baltimore.
Pauline Taylor, seen here sorting snap peas, has been volunteering at the Ash Street location for three years. “The best part of being here is knowing you’re a part of creating change and contributing to the wellness of Baltimore City, she says. “It’s a way of bridging the disparities that exist between food choices and nutrition,” not just in Baltimore City, but nationwide. “Start where we are,” she says.
On this particular day, the Food Rescue debuted a new feature: Chef Crystal Foreman, smiling here while Cierra Perrera shares an artichoke with Valerie King, is on hand to give a cooking demonstration before the giveaway starts. Foreman, who is a farmer and forager, wants to show people not only how to cook the food they pick up, but how to use food economically and in a healthy way. “You can tell them how to cook something, or give them a recipe, but showing them is key.”
Once the food is sorted, volunteers bring it into the larger gathering area and set boxes and bins up on tables. A sign-in sheet is passed around and the Baltimore Free Farm Giveway gets started. Here, Bryan McGlory and Megan Lledo pick up aloe, spinach and purple potatoes. “The best part is that it’s free and the food doesn’t go to waste or end up rotting in a dumpster,” says Lledo.
The Ash Street location is only one of several giveaway sites that Matt and his volunteers manage. Here, Jocelyn Imani savors the scent of basil at a giveaway at The Land of Kush on Eutaw Place. “I wish we had this in D.C. I appreciate that Matt can offer suggestions on how to prepare the food he offers,” she says
Here, people gather food at the Dovecote Café giveaway in Reservoir Hill.
Deja Richardson and Ahmed Childs discuss the virtues of fennel at the Dovecote Café giveaway. “It’s a double-blessing,” “Mama” Saray, one of the Ash Street volunteers (not pictured), says of the Giveaways. It’s not just a blessing to the people who are getting the food, but to us, too, who are helping.”
Rest Uwabun, 8, examines a red bell pepper at a giveaway.
Food rescue volunteer Cynthia Bynoe hugs Antonio McCullough at the Yo! Baltimore Community Center giveaway site. “The impact of the giveaway is beautiful,” Bynoe says. “We make sure we have something for everybody and they are so very appreciative.”
Almost none of the food is wasted. Whatever can’t be given away is either picked up by farmers who can use it to feed their animals or composted. Burke says his Open Society Institute Fellowship has allowed him to vastly expand the operation. “Before the expansion,” he says, “we were able to pick up about 1000 pounds of food per week, and we composted between 100 and 200 pounds. Now, after the expansion, we’re able to pick up about 4000 pounds per week, but we’re still only composting between 100 and 200 pounds,” quadrupling the number of people who benefit from the giveaways.
