What to Do With Your Excess Produce:
Grow-an-Extra-Row & Share Your Bounty 

Share your bumper crop with others in the community. Photo: Elaine Casap, Unsplash

If you’ve started your community food garden, you may soon find that you have more than enough produce. Have you considered donating some of the extra beyond your friends and neighbors?  As impacts of the pandemic continue to be felt, many of the most vulnerable families in our community have lost employment and are struggling to buy healthy food. The good news is, lots of organizations are stepping up to help provide some of those missing meals!

To learn more about Grow-An-Extra-Row, contact: schoolandcommgardens@marinmg.org.

If you can grow an extra row for those in need, please consider sharing your bounty with the following organizations. 

Use this list of local non-profits that accept produce donations. Be sure to call or email first to get confirmation before bringing any produce donations.

Vivalon:
Location: 930 Tamalpais Ave, San Rafael
Phone: 415-456-9062 x129
Email: smcnally@vivalon.org
Time: Fridays 9am - 10am (side door)
OR: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays 11:30am - 1pm (front door take-out window)

Community Action Marin (CAM)  
Location: CAM Central Kitchen, 4308 Redwood Highway, Suite 100, San Rafael
Phone: 415-491-4670
Email: jrodriguez@camarin.org
Time: Monday - Friday, 7am - 12pm

Ceres Community Project
Location: Greek Orthodox Church Kitchen, 1110 Highland Drive, Novato
Phone: 214-532-8650
Email: lkatz@ceresproject.org
Time: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays 12:30 - 6:30pm

Homeward Bound of Marin, New Beginnings Center
Location: 1399 N Hamilton Pkwy, Novato
Phone: 415-332-5521
Email: jkirk@hbofm.org 
Time: Monday - Friday, 9am - 3pm

Marin Community Fridges
3 San Rafael locations
www.marincommunityfridges.info

FOR GLEANING:
If you have extra fruit on your trees, email “Share The Bounty” at sharethebountymarin@gmail.com and they will pick up & take it to donor organizations (sharethebountymarin.org).

Use local social media outlets to offer free produce: Facebook, NextDoor, etc.

Note: For now, the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank cannot take small donations of garden-grown produce due to increased demands on their services. They hope to resume donations of garden produce in the future at their San Rafael warehouse. If you are a farmer with a larger donation, please contact them directly at their Food Sourcing Department at 415-282-1900 ext 239 or by emailing vpatterson@sfmfoodbank.org.

Read this if you are concerned regarding legal protection for food donors: https://extrafood.org/laws-protect-food-donors.

While there is currently no evidence that the coronavirus can be transferred through food, please follow safety precautions to keep our community healthy. Do not harvest produce if you feel unwell or have been exposed to COVID-19, wash your hands before harvesting produce, and maintain social distancing and wear a face covering when donating produce.

And as always, we have a wealth of information on how to grow food - Check out our section about growing edibles!

Reporting Donations

When it’s time to harvest, use the QR code or this link to report your donations and either distribute within your school/residential community or choose an organization to share your bounty with.  Thank you for growing for those in need of fresh produce!