After the Harvest KC

Santa came early this year! And by Santa, we mean Bates County Produce, made up of 40-some family farmers. Thanks to them we have over 37,000 pounds!! of squash--spaghetti and butternut--to distribute throughout our community, just in time for the holidays! We'll be reaching out to our partners with larger capacity to share with those in need as well as supplementing some big food distribution events and mobile pantries.

This Veterans Day, we express our gratitude to all who have served our country.

With your help we’ve raised nearly $7,000 toward our goal of $25,000 By reaching our goal, your kindness will help us provide more than 160,000 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables to the 1 in 4 children who are projected to be food insecure by the end of this year. Give yourselves a high five for helping us boost the immunity of our community during this global pandemic. Especially now, we couldn’t get healthy food to hungry people without you! Haven’t donated yet? Go see for yourself how your friends are helping us fill trucks with bucks of nutrition for hungry people in Greater Kansas City: http://ow.ly/v4ll50CC91b

Food for Thought Friday: Did you know that turnips were a staple food in Ancient Greece and Rome? They were really onto something, because turnips are a rich source of dietary fibers, vitamins C and potassium. The greens (leafy part of the plant) contain more nutrients compared to the root, with vitamins B6, E, K, A and C and minerals such as calcium, copper, iron and manganese. And can you believe that 100g of fresh root has only 28 calories! This year alone, After the Harvest volunteers have gleaned 3,904 pounds (just shy of 2 tons ) of turnips that were distributed to hungry families all over Kansas City!

This little girl didn't let the size of this sweet potato scare her off from gleaning on Halloween! She and her fellow volunteers dug up 2,250 pounds of sweet potatoes, allowing us to supply TEN of our agencies with these delicious monsters. Did you know that sweet potatoes can be eaten by diabetics, despite their sweet label? Because of their low glycemic index, they do not cause a spike in blood sugar levels. And, they satisfy sugar cravings because of the sweet taste.

Thank You For Making Giving Tuesday Count! Your kindness on Giving Tuesday was the perfect kickoff to Buck$ for Trucks, our annual effort to raise funds to rescue truckloads of produce from being wasted and bring them to Kansas City to nourish food-insecure families. You gave $6,816 leading up to and on Giving Tuesday, putting us over a quarter of the way to our $25,000 goal by year's end.... Your help is more critical now than ever as 40% of people seeking help during the pandemic are relying on a charitable food system for the first time. You can donate through Dec. 31. Donate to Buck$ for Trucks now: http://ow.ly/JyRC50CyI14

By the end of this year, one in four children in our community is projected to be food insecure. That’s one too many. Beginning today--Giving Tuesday--through Dec. 31, we’re counting on your bucks to help us fill trucks with nutrition and bring them to Kansas City for wide distribution. Each truck carries about 40,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables that many food-insecure children in our community rarely get to taste. Thank you for Making Giving Tuesday count for children ...and families who are food insecure. Donate to Buck$ for Trucks today to maximize your contribution that will be matched by a generous donor up to $5,000: http://ow.ly/Jgme50CyHUO

We recently participated in Cider Hill Family Orchard's final gleaning of the season with nearly 1,400 pounds of windfall apples! Instead of letting the apples that have fallen off of the trees go to waste and rot on the ground, we distributed them to five different agencies that will give them to hungry people. Windfall apples are exactly what they sound like--apples that have been knocked off of the tree by the wind. The majority of them are perfectly fine, and can be eaten or baked in pies.

Help us welcome After the Harvest's newest team member Savannah Hawley, our Development Intern! Savannah is a current senior at William Jewell College, studying French and Literature & Theory through the Oxbridge Honors Program. She is passionate about helping people in whatever way possible. Savannah immediately fell in love with After the Harvest after realizing it was a nonprofit that combined her love of sustainability and helping people through ensuring that people in n...eed are given healthy food while combating food waste in the area. She says the most exciting part of working with After the Harvest is gleaning in the fields, because she can help save great produce while being constantly reminded about After the Harvest’s mission (not to mention, she says it’s fun for a city girl like her to learn all about growing and harvesting food). Savannah’s favorite food is bread and her favorite vegetable is brussels sprouts. She claims to be an advocate of eating both. Welcome aboard, Savannah! We are so excited to have you with us!

It may be cold outside, but there's still plenty of harvesting to do this season. In fact, last week, volunteer gleaners, including our friends at UMB Bank, harvested over 500 pounds of turnip greens. If you think about how very little each leaf weighs, that's A LOT of greens! A huge thank you to the volunteers who braved the weather and farmer Arnall for his tremendous donation!... We still have some spots open through November. Check them out: http://ow.ly/cCVS50C7uC7

Happy Halloween It may have been cold and snowy earlier this week, but we aren't letting that scare us! Volunteer gleaners are still out in the fields, getting their hands dirty, all to serve hungry people in our community. Our friends and new farm to After the Harvest, The Atkins-Johnson Farm and Museum in Gladstone donated nearly 150 pumpkins for us, which otherwise would have frozen in the recent cold snap. ... The carving pumpkins were shared with our education partner Operation Breakthrough and the pie pumpkins with kitchens in our area for holiday meals.

Produce Rescue Driver volunteers delivered over 200 pounds of greens and tomatoes from from two of our generous farmers, and was distributed through Temple of Faith Church of God in Faith on Kansas City, MO. Famed VEG Squad member Tom Decker also was there to help deliver all of this fall produce! Thanks to our volunteers and donors, we are able to provide produce to over 360 agencies who feed more than 35,000 hungry people each week.

On an average day I really enjoy what I do, taking healthy food from local farms to area food pantries and kitchens. Today, I felt like the pumpkin fairy de...livering two truckloads, hundreds of pumpkins, to kids who may not otherwise be able to have them. Thanks After the Harvest KC and The Atkins-Johnson Farm and Museum for helping kids at Operation Breakthrough and their Fall Festival! See more

While our staff was pulled in all directions last week, our volunteers stepped up to help provide produce to our hungry neighbors. Avondale Food Pantry distributed ATH produce--turnips, tomatoes, green peppers, green beans, eggplant, collards and mustard greens--to over 25 families and nearly 100 individuals! Find out more about how After the Harvest gets healthy food to hungry people: http://ow.ly/QD3V50C1c1m

Wow! What an amazing weekend of celebrating the joys of rescuing healthy food and delivering it to hungry people during a time when they need it most. Because of you, we were able to raise over $16,000 to sustain our mission of fighting food insecurity, improving nutrition and minimizing food waste. We cannot thank you enough!

The sun is settin' and the event is startin'. But don't fret! You can still purchase raffle tickets until 8 p.m. tonight. http://ow.ly/xgKP50BZYKA

Tonight is the night! COVID-19 forced us to cancel our fundraiser earlier this year, but a global pandemic can't keep us from scooting our boots to our living rooms together for a virtual night of all-local fun. Tonight we celebrate the joys of rescuing healthy food and delivering it to hungry people during a time when they need it most.... See ya'll at the Virtual Fairgrounds Can't make the event tonight? You can still purchase raffle tickets. You do not have to be present to win. Or consider donating: http://ow.ly/om9p50BY4iJ

Have you purchased your raffle tickets yet? You have until Saturday night at 8 p.m. to enter to win these amazing items! Four-course Blue Ribbon Dinner for 4 from Wilma's Good Food and Operation BBQ Relief Custom Acrylic Painting from King Of Green Art Studio ... Star party & glamping experience for 4 from Bentley Ousley, one of Kansas City’s renowned astronomers, and Hawley Farm Glamping 10-week Community Supported Agriculture subscription from KC Farm School at Gibbs Road 3-day juice cleanse from Ruby Jean's Juicery $50 gift card from True Food Kitchen Charcuterie board with two wine flights from The Pairing: Crossroads Wine & Grocer Two dozen bedding plants, including heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers (available in April 2021) from Yum Yards A pair of handmade, 9-inch square pollinator plates featuring butterflies and bees from Clay Jarrett (http://ow.ly/XQzx50BY37s) You can also buy your Greens&Jeans On Screens event tickets. Space is limited, so better act fast: http://ow.ly/vxSC50BY37t