Our speaker this week was Gabe Zoerheide, Executive Director. He was born in the Upper Valley. He lives on a Dairy farm in Vermont. He has worked as Director for Programs at Vital Communities. He spent a couple of years as the executive director for Cohase Chamber of Commerce before accepting his position at Willing Hands.
He provided a broad overview of Willing Hands. Willing Hands has a 20+ year history of serving the Upper Valley. The organization is focused on elevating food insecurity. The goal is to get fresh perishable foods for those in need.
He acknowledged Phil Bush who for a time was their bookkeeper, and Bill Chabot who is a volunteer.
Some of the following information is from Gabe’s talk and some is from the Willing Hands website: https://willinghands.org/
Food insecurity continues to rise in the Upper Valley. It is now higher than during the pandemic. Listen reports a 25% increase in those accessing their food pantries. Inflation and SNAP cuts have impacted many. Most desired items are fresh produce, dairy, eggs, and protein. Many of our neighbors are visiting food shelves for the first time. Food shelves are struggling to keep up with demand
Mission
Willing Hands recovers fresh food to reduce food waste and expand equitable and reliable access to fresh food.
Their Values
Volunteerism: Volunteering is foundational to advancing our mission and creates connectedness in our community.
Environmental Stewardship: Reducing food waste is our organization’s most impactful opportunity to mitigate the climate crisis. they seek to reduce our carbon footprint and protect the environment throughout their operations.
Advancing Equity: All people should have access to nourishing, fresh food. We are committed to more deeply understanding and responding to the diverse needs, preferences, and circumstances of those in our community. They are committed to ensuring all those who engage with the organization feel included, respected, and able to thrive.
Strengthening Our Community: Strong, mutually beneficial partnerships are key to community resilience. They appreciate, support, and collaborate with local farms, donors, recipient organizations, and community partners to contribute to our community’s collective well-being.
The Model
Willing Hands has become one of the most successful hunger relief and food recovery organizations in New England. The concept is simple and effective:
- They receive surplus fresh produce, dairy, eggs, meat, and bread from food donors such as farms, grocery stores, and wholesalers. They can get information from family gardens too.
- Volunteers harvest leftover produce from local farms and grow produce in four Willing Hands gardens.
- Their drivers deliver this food weekly, year-round, to 80 recipient organizations throughout the Upper Valley. These include food shelves, income-based housing, and child, senior, and Veterans’ centers.
- More of our neighbors have reliable access to the fresh foods they want.
Food Recovery
Reducing food waste is a significant way to counter climate change. When local food stores and wholesalers have excess fresh food at risk of going to waste, Willing Hands picks it up and brings it back to our Norwich facility. Our Warehouse & Delivery Team carefully sorts and tracks all food donations and prepares daily deliveries to our partner organizations across the Upper Valley.
To learn more about how our operations contribute to community-scale climate solutions, visit our Environmental Impact page.
Volunteer Support
Willing Hands relies on a large network of volunteers to harvest fruits and vegetables from local farms and grow produce in our four gardens.
Gleaning is a form of food recovery where the leftover produce from a farm’s harvest is picked so it doesn’t go to waste. Willing Hands partners with farms and orchards throughout the region to host volunteer groups for gleaning sessions.
Willing Hands is a member of the Vermont Gleaning Collective and New Hampshire Gleans.
262 Volunteers harvested 56,540 pounds of produce. Currently, gleaning is focused on apple orchards.
At the end of each gleaning activity, the take a “pick and grin” picture of the volunteers.
Gardening is a central part of their volunteer program. they manage four volunteer-powered gardens to grow specific crops that provide a more balanced supply of produce year-round. The gardens, totaling approximately 8 acres of land, host volunteer sessions throughout the growing season and function as community engagement, education, and team-building spaces.
Last year, 698 volunteers grew and harvested 24,877 pounds of nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables from their gardens.
The gardens are located at:
- 198 Church Street, Norwich
- River Road, Norwich
- Sunny Fields Garden at Cedar Circle Farm
- The Farmacy at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center
