Kitsap Harvest

Basic Needs
Community
Crisis
Education
Environment
Equality
Family
Health
Veterans

Who We Are

Kitsap Harvest's gleaning program rescues produce such as the apples, plums, pears from trees in Kitsap neighborhoods. We pick the kale, lettuce, leeks, garlic, squash, pumpkins, etc. from farms that aren’t going to make it to Farmers Markets. We rescue all sorts of produce, including and especially, from personal gardens.

Then we connect that abundance with those in need. The volunteers that help us pick that produce in turn get to take some home for themselves. The rest of the produce is then distributed to food access organizations such as food banks, soup kitchens, shelters, and other access points.

Community grown food is as local as it gets, and when picked ripe, the most nutritious. Healthy food should be accessible for everyone. We strive to end hunger in our community!

Our mission is to connect abundance to need by reducing food waste, nurturing community, and providing equitable access to fresh, locally grown food.

Kitsap Harvest, started as AmeriCorps program of Rotary First’s Harvest Against Hunger in 2016 housed with the Kitsap Public Health District. In recognition to better health which is associated with fresh food access, education and awareness through broad community interactions, relationship building with other food security networks, and establishing coordination.

At the end of 2018 the Kitsap Harvest program was moved to the WSU Extension to continue it's impact in the community while incubating the next version of itself to be a self-sustaining community resource. In June of 2022 Kitsap Harvest became a federally recognized nonprofit. This has opened up opportunities for funding and more dynamic community partnerships and roles.

What We Do

The USDA states that 40% of food in America and 50% of produce, worth $161 billion, gets discarded. Astonishingly however, 50 million Americans are food insecure. These polarized issues need to be bridged to have a healthier and sustainable future.

In Kitsap County 30% of adults are food insecure, and 35% of children need free or reduced lunches. Visits to food banks have increased 70% since 2006. Food banks are serving 48,000 residents a year.

In 2022 we collected food from community gardens, households, urban fruit trees, and from local farmers at both the Port Orchard and Bremerton Farmers Markets, preventing 157,000 lbs of food from ending up in the landfill, while distributing nearly 100,000 lbs of fresh and shelf stable foods to 32 sites, reaching an estimated 1145 individuals.

Goals of Kitsap Harvest:

Establish a volunteer lead gleaning program, structured primarily by community stakeholders which utilizes a strong and self-sustained volunteer assembly and encompasses previous food recovery efforts.

Work with and create lasting communication among farmers, local growers, food banks, and volunteers in order to strengthen gleaning and harvesting activities.