We have made it to May, everyone! The sun is shining and the crops are rooting, the season of bounty is on its way. In the month of April, our donors and volunteers helped create and deliver an astonishing 904 delicious, healthy meals and donated $5189 in dry goods and produce. Our kitchen renovations have been extremely successful and this makes two months in a row that we have beaten our deliveries from last year.
A very warm ‘Welcome Aboard’ to one of our newest volunteers, Scott Friedland for his contributions to the meal preparations. We were able to add significantly more deliveries to our meal count this month directly thanks to his volunteer contributions. Don’t ever think that one person can’t make a difference because that is just not true, and his recent efforts have certainly made a difference to us. Thank you Scott, and all of our volunteers and donors for your continued help and your commitment to meaningful change.
Community Spotlight
Are you a farmer who sees things left behind in the field? Are you a church or civic group looking for ways to help your community? The Delmarva branch of the SoSA wants to meet you!
Society of St. Andrew, the nation’s oldest and largest gleaning/food rescue organization, opened its local regional office in June 2022 in Salisbury, MD.
The 40 year old ministry works with farmers and distribution sites to save the produce that would otherwise go to waste (either unharvested or unmarketable), and uses volunteers to get the fresh fruits and vegetables from the field out to hunger agencies and underserved communities.
Can you see why we’re such big fans of their work?
SoSA’s Delmarva office is working on building relationships with farmers and other providers; volunteers and volunteer groups; and local hunger agencies and representatives from underserved communities who can receive and distribute produce.
SoSA is a non-denominational nonprofit and works with volunteers of all faith backgrounds, and accepts volunteers of all ages.
If you are a grower with food to share, are interested in volunteering with SoSA, or are an agency that would like to accept fresh produce, please reach out to
Brenda Mahan, Delmarva Program Coordinator at dmv-glean@endhunger.org.
And learn more at endhunger.org
In 2021, SoSA distributed more than 46 million pounds of food utilizing 21,000 volunteers. SoSA worked with more than 900 farmers and other providers and sent food to nearly 2,000 partner agencies such as the Renovate Church Pantry in Delmar, MD, pictured here. Rescuing produce and feeding families, that’s a winning combination!
Register Today for the Sussex EcoChallenge!
Starting at the Lewes Transit Center, your EcoChallenge begins! You will be provided with a route-map and a list of tasks to complete while learning all about local vendors and community groups who are helping to make your Summer beach visits a whole lot greener.
We are still accepting local vendors who would like to participate, volunteer EcoAmbassadors who are willing to lend a hand along the route, and teams of 2-4 participants including at least one adult if a child under 14 is present.
We will wrap up the EcoChallenge day at Grove Park for a Finish Line Ceremony, picnic celebration, fun and prizes!
We hope to see you there!
Click the button below to learn more or Click Here to Register your Team!
A special word from Teresa Ripley, our Executive Director
Teach a Person to Fish Board Member John Sykes shared his reflection with our congregation in its Earth Day Service. In addition to our our own experiences, we wanted to share this combined insight into both the personal and societal commitments required to address the climate crisis we’re experiencing.
A few years ago, our son came home from school and told us that his teacher said that the word “diet” (as it is understood in our culture) is not an appropriate description of what one needs to do to address unhealthy eating habits. She told her students that rather than dieting, one needed to commit to changing their eating habits not just temporarily, but for the rest of their lives. That statement had a profound impact on me because it has a natural correlation to environmental habits. Rather than one-time efforts on a day like Earth Day, we need to commit to changing the way we live every day for the rest of our lives. Commit to changes like not eating meat on certain days of the week, replacing your gas stove and teflon pans, taking plastic bags to the grocery store bins to be recycled, insulating your home to be more efficient, limiting food waste, creating a garden to supplement your produce needs, composting, etc. These changes needn’t be a heavy lift and may improve your mental health as well. As John so eloquently suggested, “We must ask ourselves, ‘Can we turn this trend around?’ Perhaps, we might better ask, ‘What if climate change meant not doom — but abundance?'” In this reflection taken from author Rebecca Solnit, “We consider giving up things we are well rid of, from deadly emissions to the nagging feelings of doom and complicity in our own destruction.”
Lastly, the word “repent” is often used in a religious context – Jimmy Swaggert type confessions immediately come to my mind. In actuality, the word means simply to change one’s mind, a difficult thing to do but possible through deep reflection and a commitment to changing deeply ingrained habits. Societally, we have been marketed American individualism, entitlement, consumerism, and convenience from early childhood throughout our lives. It is time for us to resist those messages and do what is beneficial for the planet, our children, our neighbors, and future generations. Along the way, you may be surprised to find that it is beneficial to your own physical and mental well-being as well!
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