1. 12 Utah Farm Bureau News Special Edition | COUNTRYSIDE | Winter 2015
FARM TO
FOOD BANK: HOW
FARMERS CAN FEED
UTAH’S HUNGRY
By Mariesa Bergin | Executive Assistant, Utah Farm Bureau Federation

2. Winter 2015 | COUNTRYSIDE | Utah Farm Bureau News Special Edition 13
them know you have items to donate. These infrequent
donations are often the most costly items for a person to
acquire on a limited budget.
The Joyce Hansen Hall Food Bank and the Utah Farm
Bureau are challenging individuals throughout the state
to participate in addressing this need by making a plan to
­support their local food pantry in the coming year.
Below are 7 ways to fill your local pantry with fresh food
in this coming year:
1. PLANT A DESIGNATED FOOD BANK ROW IN YOUR GARDEN
If you already have a garden or farm, why not add one more
row and donate it? Pantries will accept produce in any quantity.
Even if you only have a small bag of tomatoes or zucchini, it’s
better to share it with someone who will eat it rather than toss
it after sitting on the counter, untouched, for several weeks.
2. FARM STAND EXTRAS: DONATE THEM
Many Farm Bureau members participate in a farmers market
or farm stand. Put your pantry on speed-dial for those weeks
when you have more than you know what to do with. You
can arrange a drop-off or a pick-up for anything that isn’t
going to make it to the following week’s market.
3. RAISE AN ANIMAL FOR 4-H OR FFA AND DONATE THE MEAT
Weber County’s Tanner Neeley donated his 4-H steer to the
Joyce Hansen Hall Food Bank in 2010. He was in 5th grade
at the time and was able to stock the shelves of the pantry
for two weeks with fresh meat. Neeley has continued to
donate a steer each year since 2010 (he is now a senior in
high school) and has inspired local cattle ranchers to donate
steers in order to support his effort. Pantries can redistribute
meat that has been professionally processed.
4. MAKE A TRADE—FEED YOUR PIG FOR FREE, AND DONATE
SOME MEAT
Even food banks receive food that they can’t redistribute.
They fill crates each week with food that is unsafe for human
The most important goal of ours at the food bank,
aside from helping our clients meet their most basic
needs, is to create an environment of dignity and respect,”
said Rebecca Van Maren, volunteer coordinator of Catholic
Community Services who manages the Joyce Hansen Hall
Food Bank of Northern Utah.
Van Maren eagerly offered a tour through the facility that
feeds 2,300 hungry families in northern Utah every month.
She breezed through statistics about Utah’s food insecurities:
• 1 in 5 Utah children is unsure of where their next meal will
come from
• 1 in 7 Utahns is at risk of missing a meal today
• 15% of Utah’s population is food insecure
Then she walked into the pantry full of groceries and
stopped to take in the sight.
The Joyce Hansen Hall Food Bank—one of more than 100
food pantries in the state—identifies itself as a “client-choice”
pantry. On any given Monday through Thursday, the room is
filled with children, adults, and teenagers pushing shopping
carts and selecting items they need.
“This,” she reiterated, “is what an environment of dignity
and respect looks like. In a client-choice pantry, they get to
choose what they will eat, not us.”
The only thing missing in the miniature grocery store is a
cash register. Individuals from any part of northern Utah can
shop in the pantry for free after verifying their income is within
150% of the federal poverty line, or $36,000 for a family of four.
One particularly eye-catching section of the store was an
aisle filled with large bins of fresh produce and refrigerators
of donated meat and cheese. Gossner Foods, Black Island
Farm, and Pettingill’s labels on the products indicated the
food was donated by local Utah farmers. A volunteer pointed
out how excited clients become when they are able to take
home fresh cuts of meat and produce.
There is a common misconception that food banks are
unable to accept perishable items. This is not true. Items
like frozen meat, tomatoes from a home garden or milk
from a dairy farm are some of the most nutritious and least
common items found on food pantry shelves. Pantries and
food banks can accept perishable donations from anyone,
and often will even come to you to pick them up if you let
If you already have a garden or
farm, why not add one more row
and donate it?

3. Audrey and Rodney Carver of Weber County Farm Bureau
drop their prices for any customer who visits their farm with
a can of food.
“We put all of the food in a giant sleigh that kids see when
they come into the petting zoo. We get to teach them about
agriculture and about the importance of sharing what we
have with others who don’t have enough,” said Audrey as she
described why they have kept up the tradition for so long.
Thirty percent of food bank donations come from indi-
viduals in the community, and the need is constant. You are
a part of a community! As the holidays approach, we invite
you to think about how you can be a part of the solution by
giving back this year.
To find a food pantry near you, visit utahfoodbank.org/
find-a-food-pantry. If you are interested in volunteering
or scheduling a donation to the Joyce Hansen Hall Food
Bank or another food bank, you can contact Rebecca Van
Maren at rvanmaren@ccsutah.org or (801) 428-1296.
14 Utah Farm Bureau News Special Edition | COUNTRYSIDE | Winter 2015
consumption, but perfect for livestock! A farmer in northern
Utah picks up rejected food from the food bank each week to
feed his livestock, then donates the harvest of one pig at the
end of each season. It’s a win-win.
5. FREEZER FULL OF LAST HUNTING SEASON’S KILL?
If you struck gold while hunting last season and are
thinking about buying an extra freezer to pile all of that
elk meat into, think again! Donate a portion instead. The
food bank will provide their clients with recipes for how to
cook game, and you’ll save yourself a few hundred dollars.
However, pantries can only accept game if it was packaged
in a USDA-approved facility.
6. COMMUNITY/CLASSROOM GARDEN
Microgrants are popping up all over the country to sup-
port urban agriculture. Why not teach your students about
agriculture while giving them an opportunity to serve
their community? Even if you are only able to donate a few
bags of produce, it will be a learning experience that your
students will never forget.
Utah Farm Bureau, Ag in the Classroom, and USU
Extension have resources available to help get your student
garden off the ground. Companies that have given grants to
local school gardens include Lowe’s, various Rotary Clubs,
Whole Foods, and SlowFood Utah.
7. USE YOUR AGRITOURISM BUSINESS TO PROMOTE A FOOD DRIVE
Carver’s Cove Petting Farm of Eden, Utah, has held a food
drive each year for seven years to celebrate the fall harvest.