Harvest for the Hungry and to Prevent Homelessness  

The Harvest for the Hungry Project is a special program that allows FFO volunteers to harvest crops at the USDA Agricultural Research Center's 3,000 acre farm in Beltsville, Maryland.

Our special Help the Homeless Harvest Days focus on homeless prevention.

Below is the 2011 Harvesting schedule.

You must be registered to harvest.

To register for one of the dates below please send an email to:

     harvest@foodforothers.org

The email MUST include the following:

• First and Second choice of dates
• Contact name
• Contact email address
• Contact phone number
• Number of volunteers in your group (space limited to 100 harvesters per day.)

After registration you will receive an email confirmation with detailed instructions and a waiver form that MUST be filled out by each participant and turned in on the day of the harvest.  

2011 Harvesting Schedule

Harvest for the Hungry Days

Harvests over for 2011

General information:

The harvesting program runs from July to the second week of October. You must register to participate; space is limited.

Harvesting takes place at the USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Farm, a 3,000-acre facility in Beltsville, MD. Most of the produce is not sprayed with pesticides or herbicides, making it nearly organic. We never pick experimental or genetically engineered produce. Detailed directions are given when you register.

Once picked, the produce is transported by Food for Others to the warehouse in Fairfax, Virginia where it goes to feed thousands of hungry people in our area.

There is no age limit for participants, but young children must be supervised by responsible adults. All volunteers can take some produce home to their own families. Community Service forms can be signed by FFO staff. Bring them to the harvest! 

If you are unsure if a harvest will be conducted due to bad weather or other reasons, please call the Food for Others main number at 703-207-9173, and listen to the recorded message AFTER 7:00 a.m. on the day of the harvest.  USDA staff decides whether it is still possible to go into the fields on the morning of the harvest. More details are given when you register.   

The harvesting activity provides community groups, churches, schools, and individuals an opportunity to help our neighbors in need.  This project is truly a fun, educational experience and worthwhile community service project, and it's good exercise too!