About – Share The Harvest

About

SHARE THE HARVEST
New Free Food Program

Go to Waste or Go to Feed Families

Every year there are fruit trees that don’t get picked so the fruit falls to the ground, rots and is wasted. This happens with gardens too. Millions of tons
of fresh fruits and vegetables go to waste every year. Our goal is to add this unpicked produce to the food supply with our free Share the Harvest program.

Our new ShareTheHarvest.LIFE website connects growers and pickers during spring, summer, fall and winter harvest seasons all around the world.

GROWERS are people with too much fruit or vegetables that needs to be picked or it goes to waste and they would rather it go to families.

PICKERS are individuals like mom’s with families that want to pick free fruits and vegetables to take home, share with family, friends and neighbors and donate some to a local food bank or distribution group.

FREE: Pickers pick, pack, transport, store and distribute for free. Pickers also cover the cost of preserving the fruits and vegetables by canning, dehydrating or freezing them. (Canning costs less with free produce.) Fresh picked produce also has a longer shelf life.

3 EASY STEPS

SIGN UP: Enter sign up information and click Create Account button. (You are automatically taken to your search page)

SEARCH: Click Search button, click Grower or Picker and enter zip code.

MESSAGE: Click on profile search results and send a message to them about setting up a time to pick.

A HUGE NEW SOURCE OF FREE FOOD

Preventing food waste with our free produce picking program adds to the food supply and goes directly to hungry families.

HOMES: People may have 2 or 3 or 30 trees or a large garden. There may be too much too fast or they may be too old or too busy to pick and don’t want it to go to waste.

FARMS & ORCHARDS: We pick after the harvest with commercial farms and orchards. With homes we pick at the height of the harvest when there is too much.

RIPE OR ROTTEN: Pick it or lose it. When the harvest is ripe it comes on fast and if it isn’t picked it rots and is wasted. Our messaging helps to quickly connect growers and pickers to get it picked to help prevent food waste.

GROWERS ARE NEEDED

When big hearted growers sign up they help share their harvest with pickers who are needed to harvest the fruits and vegetables together they share and save the harvest.

This is a simple program that helps prevent food waste and feed people by connecting growers and pickers.

A grower is a person that may own 1 or 100 fruit trees, a small or large garden. The more fruits and vegetables they have the more people they may invite to pick. Usually they will set a window of time of 2 to 4 hours for people to come and pick. Farms that sign up as growers can also get a tax credit for donating their crops.

There may also be more than one picking as produce keeps coming on during the harvest season. There will be spring, summer and fall crops. In addition to home owners commercial farms are welcome as well.

PICKERS ARE NEEDED

Instead of volunteers this programs uses pickers. A man with 100 fruit trees that needed picking called his local food bank to have them send volunteers to pick. There were no volunteers so the fruit dropped and was wasted.

Our motivation for pickers is that they get to take home what they pick to feed themselves and their families. They get to keep bags of pears, peaches, apples, squash, tomatoes and zucchini…

This motivation gets a lot more pickers to help save the harvest.

Our Share the Harvest program pickers pick the produce, transport it and repack it to give to their family, friends and neighbors for instant distribution so this program is basically free.

Food banks and other food distribution groups also can sign up on the program so people can search for places to donate food in their area.

This program helps feed people which helps relieve some of the need so there is less pressure on food banks which have had their federal funding cut and the need has increased.

One six pound butternut squash at $2.00 a pound is $12.00. Fruits can be even more expensive per pound. This makes it hard for individuals and families to buy fresh fruits and vegetables.

The nutrition level is also highest in fresh picked produce.

Taking children to an orchard or garden to pick is a great activity and better than sitting in front of a video game or cell phone.

Sharing what is picked can also be a great life lesson for kids.

Growing children need good nutrition as well. Fresh picked produce is generally better than store bought produce.

CREATE A GROUP

Groups are a great feature of our SharetheHarvest.Life program website. You can create a group that can go out and pick as well as get together for socializing or helping out in the community. Groups can also help growers in the off season with their orchard or garden.

Groups could be a school where parents and families could go pick from people in their group and donate some of it back to the school pantry or backpack program. School sports teams and groups can form their own group to go out and pick. Scouts, Rotary and other established groups can create their picking group as well.

The SharetheHarvest.Life website is currently only available in English but working on creating the website in different languages.

It is summer in Australia when it is winter in the United States. Growing in the world with northern and southern hemispheres is year round. The closer you are to the equator the longer your growing season.

Saving fruit and vegetables from going to waste by connecting pickers and growers is our mission. When picking pickers meet growers and other pickers it helps create community and friendships.

Please come join us. It’s free, it’s fun and helps feed people. Please share about us to build growers and pickers joining in your area and around the world. Check us out at SharetheHarvest.Life or call 972-979-2224

REDUCED FUNDING FOR: WIC, SNAP, EBT, TEFAP, LFPA AND LOCAL FOOD FOR SCHOOL PROGRAMS

There have been major reductions in food programs while the need is increasing. Funds for purchasing food, collection, storage, packaging and distribution have
been affected. Our Share the Harvest program helps fill the gap with free produce, picking, packing, transporting and distribution.

CHILDREN’S BODY & BRAIN DEVELOPMENT DUE TO WORRY

Children worry about hunger due to its psychological impact, which includes anxiety, shame, and low self-esteem, as well as behavioral issues like irritability and difficulty concentrating. Living in a constant state of elevated cortisol affects their brains development.

They may also worry about their family's well-being and feel embarrassed about their situation. Signs of a child struggling with hunger can include hoarding food, constant requests for food, and emotional or behavioral problems. Share The Harvest is stigma free for any family.

PSYCHOLOGICAL & EMOTIONAL IMPACTS FOR CHILDREN

Anxiety and depression: The stress of not having enough food can lead to anxiety, depression, and feelings of sadness.

Low self-esteem: Hunger can make children feel different from their peers and erode their sense of self-worth.

Shame and embarrassment: Children may feel ashamed of their family's food insecurity, leading them to hide their situation from adults.

Impact on family dynamics: Worry and frustration over food scarcity can strain family relationships.

BEHAVIORAL & COGNITIVE IMPACTS

Difficulty concentrating: The combination of hunger and stress can make it hard for children to focus in school, impacting their academic performance.
Behavioral problems: Children may exhibit irritability, aggression, or other behavioral issues due to hunger and emotional turmoil.
Sleep disturbances: Anxiety and physical discomfort from hunger can disrupt sleep, leading to fatigue and further affecting mood and cognitive function.
PHYSICAL & LONG-TERM HEALTH IMPACTS
Physical health problems: Early-life hunger can be a source of toxic stress that may contribute to adverse health outcomes later in life, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, or asthma.
Weight changes: In some cases, food insecurity leads to reliance on low-cost, high-sugar, and processed foods, which can cause weight gain or loss and lead to health issues like tooth decay.
CHILDREN’S BODY & BRAIN DEVELOPMENT
Academic and Cognitive Development
Poor concentration and memory: Hunger makes it difficult for children to focus in school and impacts their ability to remember and process information.
Developmental delays: Lack of essential nutrients, especially during early childhood, can lead to cognitive delays, affecting their ability to think clearly and reason well.
Lower academic achievement: Children who experience hunger are more likely to struggle academically, perform poorly on tests, and even repeat a grade.
PHYSICAL & MENTAL HEALTH
Increased health risks: Hunger is linked to a higher risk of health issues like anemia and asthma, and the stress of food insecurity can lead to more serious long-term problems like cardiovascular disease.
Mental health challenges: Childhood hunger is a significant risk factor for mental health issues, including depression, mood disorders, and behavioral disorders, which can extend into adulthood.
Behavioral difficulties: Hunger can manifest as hyperactivity or other behavioral problems that make it hard for children to succeed in social and academic settings.
LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES
Lasting impacts: The effects of hunger can last a lifetime, leading to long-term physical and economic consequences in adulthood.
Impaired attachments: For very young children, early hunger can negatively impact their ability to form healthy attachments with caregivers, contributing to future mental health issues.
ELDERLY BODY & BRAIN HEALTH DUE TO NUTRITION
Fresh fruits and vegetables are extremely good for elderly people, providing essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber that are vital for staying healthy, active, and independent as they age.
Fresh produce helps reduce the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes, support bone and muscle health, and improve digestion.

NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS

Vitamins and minerals: Fruits and vegetables are rich in essential nutrients like Vitamin C, Vitamin A (beta-carotene), folate, potassium, magnesium, and calcium, which are crucial for immune function, tissue repair, and overall health.
Fiber: High-fiber foods like berries, leafy greens, and legumes help with digestion, manage blood sugar levels, and can lower cholesterol.
Antioxidants: Many fruits and vegetables are packed with antioxidants that help protect against cell damage and reduce the risk of disease.
HEALTH BENEFITS

Reduced risk of chronic disease: Regular consumption of fruits and vegetables is linked to a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and certain cancers.
Stronger bones and muscles: A nutrient-rich diet supports the strength of bones and muscles, which is important for maintaining mobility and independence.
Improved digestion: The fiber found in fruits and vegetables helps prevent constipation, which can become more common with age.
Brain health: A diet that includes a variety of fruits, vegetables, and other whole foods can help improve focus and may lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
TONS OF FREE FRUITS & VEGETABLES
How many tons of fruits and vegetables go unpicked, rot and go to waste in this country every year? How much goes to waste in the world?
Growers let people pick for free so it doesn’t go to waste and pickers pick for free so they can take home bags of fresh picked fruits and vegetables.
WORLD WIDE PROGRAM
Share the Harvest is a nation wide and world wide program on the internet that connects growers and pickers so instead of going to waste it goes to feed the hungry. (You can search for Australia to test the world wide reach)

GROWERS WANT PEOPLE TO PICK FOR FREE
I have talked with many growers (people who have fruit trees or gardens) who say every year they see their fruit trees full of delicious ripe pears, peaches, apples, plums and other fruit go unpicked, fall to the ground, rot and are wasted which they hate to see.
The reasons it goes unpicked is because they are too old, too busy, there are too many trees, there is too much at one time and there is more than they need. They want people to come and pick so it doesn’t go to waste.

I have heard stories of people who chop down fruit trees so they don’t have to clean up the mess of rotting fruit under the trees.
INDIVIDUALS AND FARMS
An individual with 1 to 3 fruit trees might invite 3 or 4 families to pick. If they have 10 to 100 trees they will invite more pickers. Share the Harvest lets them message and invite as many pickers as are needed for the crop they have. A window of time can be set for pickers to come and pick
In addition to individuals with fruit trees and gardens there are orchards and farms that are willing to let people come pick for free when they are done picking. Excess produce can also feed horses and livestock.

Rotting fruit can cause air pollution. Food waste accounts for one-third of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions and generates 8% of greenhouse gases annually.
VOLUNTEERS vs. PICKERS
A person with 100 fruit trees called their local food bank to ask them to send volunteers to pick their trees and they didn’t have people so the fruit went unpicked, fell to the ground, rotted and was wasted.

Volunteers give up their time and energy to go pick and then donate to a food bank. We have pickers instead of volunteers. Pickers get to keep what they pick to take home for themselves, their family and friends and to donate if they want to. Free bags of fruits and vegetables is the motivation we provide which gets a lot more response.
QUICK COMMUNICATION IS NEEDED
Our ShareTheHarvest.Life website allows people to communicate quickly as ripe fruit is good one week and bad the next. It also helps pickers know where they can pick free fruits and vegetables including large farms at the end of the season they might not know about otherwise.

HELPING FOOD BANKS, PANTRIES, SCHOOLS…
Food banks, schools and other food distribution programs can sign up at ShareTheHarvest.Life as a donation place. People can search their area for places to donate extra produce they pick.
When people pick and share what they pick it is instant distribution that does not need storage space at a food bank. There is no need to refrigerate the produce they take home which leaves more room for eggs, butter, milk and meat in the food bank refrigerator.
HARVEST SEASON 6 TO 10 MONTHS & ALL YEAR LONG
The harvest season is longer the closer to the equator you are. It is longer in southern California than Canada. June, July and August are summer months in North America but winter months in Australia and southern hemisphere countries. Crops are growing somewhere all year long.
There are spring, summer, fall and even winter crops that can be picked during the year providing fresh produce to help feed the hungry.
Gleaning is typically at the end of the season after the crops have been harvested picking what is left over. Share the Harvest does after the harvest but also is needed at the height of the harvest when trees and gardens are exploding with produce that either gets picked or goes to waste.

There are also multiple pickings from fruit trees and gardens during the season. Picking produce removes stigma of food stamps or welfare.
FREE LIST OF THINGS THAT USUALLY COST MONEY
Land, building and yearly operating costs for a food bank or pantry can be hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars. Our program is free with free produce, picking, packing, warehousing, transporting, packaging and distribution done for free by individuals and moms picking for their family.
Free Fruits and Vegetables
Free Picking
Free Packing
Free Storage
Free Refrigeration
Free Canning, Dehydration and Freezing
Free Transportation
Free Distribution
Free Administration, Staff and yearly budget

HIGHER NUTRITION VALUE

Fruits and vegetables are often genetically engineered to pick early. They are picked early, shipped to a warehouse, shipped to a store and when they get to old to sell they are shipped to food bank, where they get repackaged and shipped to a pantry, where they get repackaged and then given out to people once or twice a week. I have heard stories of people going to a food pantry and getting moldy produce.

Fresh picked produce has a higher nutrition content and longer shelf life than old produce donated from stores.

SERVING SMALL COMMUNITY FOOD NEEDS

Share the Harvest is a program with zero cost to serve any community no matter how small or remote. Free costs less. Share The Harvest is scalable and doesn’t require new buildings to be built for more space.

Pickers can pick 8 to 10 bags of produce in 2 hours of picking which is more than getting 1 bag of groceries from food pantry.

Creating a food bank and food pantries cost money. Buying land, building a building, refrigeration room, equipment, maintenance and vehicles can cost millions of dollars in addition to yearly costs for administration staff and workers. Share the Harvest program is free.

SHARE THE HARVEST GROUPS CREATE COMMUNITY

Community is created when pickers meet other pickers and growers while picking. Groups create community as people get together to pick which is a great connection activity. A group can be a swim team at a local high school that takes some fruits and vegetables home as well as donating produce to the school pantry or back pack program. Parents at a school can form groups, alumni, churches, adult sports teams businesses and more.

Groups can help out in the community with other projects as well.

SHARE THE HARVEST SCHOOLS PROGRAM

ShareTheHarvest.Life is our website with our sharing program that helps people pick free fruits and vegetables to help feed themselves, their family and share with family and friends as well as donating to school pantry and backpack food distribution programs.

Schools can form a group with groups inside of the main group.
Sports teams can form picking groups to pick for their families and donate to the schools food pantry and food back pack programs.
Cheer leaders, debate teams, or any other group can go and pick as well as forming a picking crew.
Parents can form their own group and go out with their children to pick.
Picking is a great team building exercise and helps form friendships with the parents and students meeting and working with each other.
Parents who grow fruits and vegetables can sign up as growers and parents who want to pick can sign up as pickers.
During the off season pickers can help growers prepare their orchards and gardens for the next growing season.
We are talking about FREE fruits and vegetables that if they don’t get picked go to waste.
Picking team t-shirts, caps or wristbands can also promote a sense of community and belonging to a team and a purpose.
Send out the football, soccer, baseball teams to pick and have a great time. We promote kids picking in orchards and gardens in nature to help serve their community instead of playing video games and scrolling on phones.
PROCESSED FOOD vs. FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
Parents may not be able to afford fresh fruits and vegetables so they buy processed food which is cheaper. When they pick fresh fruits and vegetables they don’t have a choice. Childhood obesity is a problem that we are trying to help prevent by showing kids how to eat healthy and develop healthy eating habits.
HELPING IN THE OFF SEASON
Pickers can contact growers to help them clean up rotten fruit under their trees. Pickers can help growers prune their trees, prepare the ground for planting and help plant gardens. A grower and picker party can be held at the end of the harvest and beginning of the season.
PROFILE INFORMATION BOX
Growers can list the fruits or vegetables they grow and the months that they will have a harvest that people can pick.
MULTIPLE PICKINGS

Spring, summer and fall there are crops to pick. With fruit trees there may be 2 or 3 pickings as new fruit gets larger and is ready to pick. With gardens there may be multiple pickings as well.

Origin Story

It all started with a plum tree owned by a 95 year old woman. She couldn't pick anymore so my neighbor picked the plums and gave bags to her neighbors. I took some of the plums I had been given and dropped them off with friends on my trip into town to do some errands.

At my second plum stop a friend said they had a plum tree with so many plums they would throw them over the fence for the deer to eat. I thought for a moment and asked "What about donating them to the local food bank?" They said they hadn't thought about that.

1. DONATION LOCATIONS
My first idea was to create donation locations to make it easier for people to donate their extra fruits and vegetables. The food pantry agreed to pick up the donated produce and I set up 6 local businesses with Donation signs and large buckets. This worked best with high traffic places that people visited weekly.

2. DISCOUNT COUPONS WITH EACH DONATION
My second idea was to create coupons that people would get if they donated food directly to a food bank or food pantry that would get them discounts at local businesses. This made it easy for a business to put up a flyer and hand out small flyers with a map of how to find the food bank and their hours.

3. FRUIT & VEGETABLE EXCHANGE TABLE
My third idea was to promote fruit and vegetable exchange tables at companies, gyms, churches and other groups. One day a week people could bring in their extra fruits and vegetables and people could take them home. Any left over could be taken to a local food bank or other distribution place.

4. WEBSITE CONNECTING GROWERS & PICKERS
My fourth idea was to create a website that would automatically connect people who were growers with extra produce that didn't want it to go to waste with people who would like to pick it and take it home.

People can keep what they picked and can it for the winter months, give some to family and friends or give some to local distribution places like food banks, school backpack programs and other places that could help get it to people that need it.

On our website people can search for growers, pickers and distribution places to message them and connect. Anywhere in the country people can search for the zip code or town and state they live in to find pickers, growers and distribution places in their area.

NEW FREE MULTI-BILLION-DOLLAR FRESH PRODUCE WORLD WIDE PROGRAM

1. NEW FOOD SOURCE

Current food sources don’t include Share the Harvest crops.

Share the Harvest picks fruits and vegetables that in the past have rotted and gone to waste unlocking a new food source.

2. FREE FOOD SOURCE

Currently billions of dollars are spent on food for the hungry.

Share the Harvest connects the people who own fruit trees and gardens but hate it going to waste every year and want it to help feed hungry people instead so they make it free to pick.

3. FREE HIGH NUTRITION PRODUCE

Produce for stores is picked early, shipped to a warehouse, shipped to a store, when it is too old to sell it is shipped to a food bank where it is stored until shipping it to a food pantry who repackages it and hands it out to people. There are stories of people getting moldy produce.

Share the Harvest pickers pick fruits and vegetables straight off the trees or gardens which goes home the same day with the picker and has much higher nutrition value.

4. FREE PICKING, PACKING AND TRANSPORTATION

It costs a lot of money to pick, pack and transport produce.

Share the Harvest pickers pick for free, pack the produce in their car and transport it home for free.

5. FREE DISTRIBUTION

There are a lot of costs in collecting and distributing food.

Share the Harvest pickers receive the produce directly and share it with their family, friends, co-workers and neighbors.

6. FREE PRODUCE DONATIONS TO FOOD BANKS & PANTRIES

Food banks, pantries and other distribution groups are currently strained and welcome free food.

Share the Harvest has the option to sign up as a Donation Location so people can search for places to donate extra produce to in their area.

7. FREE VOLUNTEERS

Volunteers are hard to find and paying people to pick costs money. A man with 100 fruit trees full of ripe fruit called his local food bank to send volunteers to pick but they didn’t have volunteers to go pick the fruit so it dropped to the ground, rotted and was wasted.

Share the Harvest works with mom’s wanting free fresh fruits and vegetables to feed their family as well as hungry individuals who want to take home bags of pears, peaches, apples, plums and tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, squash and more for free.

8. FREE PRODUCE PRESERVATION

Canned goods last longer than fresh fruit but cost more.

Share the Harvest has moms who do canning, dehydrating or freezing to preserve the fresh produce for food through the winter.

9. FREE 8 TO 12 MONTH MULTIPLE HARVESTS

People are hungry and need food 12 months a year.

Share the Harvest has fruits and vegetables harvests from March through November with longer growing seasons the closer you are to the equator. November and December are winter months in the United States but summer months in Australia so there are always crops growing somewhere in the world.

10. FREE WORLD WIDE PROGRAM

Some programs to feed the hungry serve a limited area.

Share the Harvest is world wide with people searching by zip or postal code for growers or pickers in their area to message and set up a picking time. We are working on translations for the website.

11. FREE UNLIMITED LOCATIONS

Serving smaller areas can be hard with the cost of distribution centers like food banks.

Share the Harvest can serve any area no matter how small because it doesn’t need buildings, staff or other costs needed to collect and distribute food.

12. FREE LAND, BUILDINGS AND MAINTENANCE

It can cost millions of dollars to buy land, build a new food bank plus the yearly maintenance and other costs.

Share the Harvest doesn’t need or have any physical place so instead of millions of dollars in expenses it is free.

13. FREE STORAGE AND REFRIGERATION

Building storage and refrigeration plus electricity costs are expensive.

Share the Harvest doesn’t need storage or refrigeration because people pick, store, can, dehydrate and freeze the produce at home. This leaves more room for eggs, milk, butter at food banks.

14. FREE VEHICLES FOR COLLECTION AND DELIVERY

Food banks need vehicles to collect and transport food.

Share the Harvest pickers do the collecting and transporting with their own vehicles.

15. FREE ADMINISTRATION & EMPLOYEE COSTS

Salaries for executive directors and administrative staff plus employee payroll costs money each year for each food bank and food pantry program location.

Share the Harvest has one overall cost worldwide but each location is free.

16. FREE FOOD WASTE PREVENTION

Hiring people to pick produce, package, transport, store and distribute it to keep it from going to waste would cost a lot of money.

Share the Harvest program does all of this for free both feeding the hungry and preventing food waste.