We support, promote, and advocate for
local food and local producers.Kate Fullam | Executive Director | kate@eastendfood.org
East End Food Institute has continued its partnerships with five food pantries across the East End and expanded our Farm to Community program by partnering with Southampton Town Senior Center and the Boys and Girls Club of Shinnecock Nation to provide minimally-processed and fully prepared meals to their cafeteria programs. As an aggregator, processor, and distributor working with local farms, East End Food Institute is growing to meet the needs of our diverse community by expanding our programs and increasing access to locally-grown food.
Given that many farms and food pantries have established direct relationships, East End Food Institute initiated a pilot project in 2018 to launch its new approach, called Farm to Community. The effort includes processing and freezing fresh produce. To extend the season and maximize impact, we were able to vacuum seal and freeze over 5,000 lbs of surplus produce from local farms that were donated to three local food pantries in Winter 2019.
In 2020, we built our capacity to do even more by purchasing a refrigerated van and adding distribution from our headquarters in Southampton. During the COVID-19 crisis, East End Food Institute partnered with local food pantries to address the surge in demand for emergency food. We partnered with local food pantries to prepare and distribute over 15,000 meals and more than 5,000 lbs of local seafood to community members in need during the early stages of the pandemic.
Using software and leveraging our ability to aggregate, process, and distribute local food, East End Food Institute continues to expand its Farm to Community program. We plan to reestablish some aggregation of fresh produce to streamline connections between farmers that have extra produce and food pantries looking to expand their offerings.
In 2015, we worked with New Venture Advisors to conduct a feasibility study of a food hub for the East End. The purpose of the study was to determine whether a food hub is a viable approach to increasing sales of local produce and helping North and South Fork farmers and food producers grow their businesses.
A food hub manages the aggregation, distribution, and marketing of source identified local food from different farms for sale to institutional and wholesale buyers. Food hubs are active in different places around the country and operate using a range of different models, including providing local food to schools, hospitals, and food pantries.
In 2013, East End Food Institute (then Amagansett Food Institute) launched a Farm to Food Pantry program in partnership with Long Island Cares. The goal of the program was to provide farmers with a wholesale outlet for their surplus produce while at the same time providing hungry Long Islanders with healthy food.
From 2013-2017, the Farm to Food Pantry program resulted in over 120,000 lbs of aggregated East End surplus produce purchased and distributed by Long Island Cares Harry Chapin Food Bank to 600 food pantries in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. In fall and winter, we also worked with local farms to deliver produce directly to local food pantries.