IARN — A non-profit organization, run by college students, is hoping to reduce food waste by connecting food distributors with food insecure Americans.
The FarmLink Project strives to “connect surplus from farms to food banks all around the country.” Aidan Reilly, co-founder of The FarmLink Project, shares, “Food waste and food insecurity were exacerbated by the pandemic, but not created by the pandemic.”
“FarmLink started in the pandemic, by myself and other students, meaning we couldn’t meet in person. We had to figure out how to move food at our computers, virtually. We developed a system to do that. It’s easy and simple, and is all about making relationships,” Reilly says.
Valent USA recently partnered with The FarmLink Project. The collaboration supports “virtual food drives,” connecting food suppliers to food banks.
“It’s something we welcome everyone to join us in doing,” Reilly says. “You don’t need experience in agriculture, freight, or food distribution. You can pop on and we can have you shipping trucks of food to communities that need it within the same week.”
The FarmLink Project strives to be “easy, flexible, and quick.” To participate, visit www.farmlinkproject.org, click “Get Involved,” and choose from either “I’m a farmer, I work in transportation, I’m a food distributor, or corporate sponsorship.”
All proceeds go toward “moving food,” and “from now until the end of the year, all gifts to the The FarmLink Project will be matched.”
Story courtesy of the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network.
Photo courtesy of The FarmLink Project
