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We donate about 20% of our yield to organizations and families in need. In 2010 we focused our giving to local shelters that needed help off-setting their operational expenses, which occurred by supplying fresh food that they could pass along to their clients. We currently donate produce to:
My Brothers Keeper http://www.mybrotherskeeperbaltimore.org/
Our Daily Bread http://www.catholiccharities-md.org/our-daily-bread/
Westside Men's Shelter http://www.facebook.com/pages/Westside-Emergency-Mens-Shelter/196532880368157?v=info
The Club at Collington Square http://www.ecsm.org/programs/collington.php
Retail Sites/Restaurants
We have a strong partnership with the culinary community and look for ways we can be of reciprocal value. Some of Baltimore's most innovative restaurants and chefs have become a part of the Go Local Initiative and purchase fresh produce from our farm.
If you are with a restaurant and are interested in buying local produce, please contact Ben O'Donnell, Farm Manager.
FaithSTANDS
In 2011 The Samaritan Women hopes to pilot a revolutionary approach to food distribution. CSA (community supported agriculture) has been around for years. In a CSA, individuals or families buy an upfront "share" in the farm, and then every week during harvest months, that family receives a bushel of fresh produce–whatever is in harvest at that time.
Our mission is to move fresh food into the local neighborhoods and into the homes of the most impoverished families. These may be homes where they can't afford the upfront cost of a CSA share or don't have the transportation to pick up a weekly basket. These may be households where there's simply not enough money to buy food. As a result, children are being raised with inadequate or poor nutrition, suffering in their health and academic success, and become the adults in our community suffering from heart disease, obesity, and other chronic health issues.
It doesn't need to be this way. God has given sufficient provision for all. We just have to align that provision by heart, not by greed. We believe that these families can have access to healthy food options, and we believe this is where The Church should be most present. We believe that through a program like ours, neighborhood congregations could once again be vibrant centers in the community. Therefore, we came up with a new twist on this familiar model: Congregation Supported Agriculture (CSA) . We call our program FaithSTANDS.
How It Works
In our CSA model, any one of our 70+ partner churches (those who have more than they need) can be a bounty to one that has not. A Congregation agrees to subsidize the cost of a CSA share (equivalent to the food needed to supply 12 persons for 1 week) for one growing season. This congregation also agrees to actively participate in the process by supplying volunteer labor each week to support the growing, harvesting and transporting of the food to the destination sites.
The receiving congregation is actively engaged as well. The leadership must commit to encouraging Biblical principles of health and wellness through the message and various church activities. Parishioners will support distributing the produce to the families and households of greatest need and monitoring impact. Teams will also be formed to volunteer at TSW for the growing and harvesting work.
Throughout this process we hope to inspire communities and families to not only eat better, but to realize that they too can be a part of the act of creation through growing. At the end of the farm season, all congregations will be invited to come together for Table Fellowship, to celebrate God's bounty and provision, and to give thanks.
The FaithSTANDS Pilot
Given TSW's location, the SW corridor of Wilkens Ave., Frederick Rd. and Edmonson Ave is a great place to start. For our 2011 pilot, we intend to identify up to six FaithSTANDS congregations who will minister to the needs of households as a receiving Congregation. Likewise, we hope to inspire support from enough congregations to subsidize all six congregational shares. Throughout the season, we hope to encourage connection and community between these partnering congregations, as they grow together, eat together, and learn together…thereby building up The WHOLE Church as one Body.
We will conduct a baseline assessment of the congregations before the pilot and perform a follow-up assessment at the end of the pilot to determine the impact this program has had and to inform recommendations for expanding the program in 2012.
If you are interested in being a partner congregation in this initial pilot, please contact Jeanne Allert, Executive Director.