The third subject in our series for Hunger Action Month is Gary Oppenheimer, a 2011 MADA honoree. He is the founder and executive director of AmpleHarvest.org, a nonprofit organization that connects gardeners with food pantries that will take surplus food. Through AmpleHarvest.org, gardeners donate their extra produce directly to pantries—a nationwide movement that provides a solution to hunger in gardeners’ figurative backyards.
Founded in 2009, AmpleHarvest.org is the only organization of its kind: a tech-based information solution to food waste and hunger. Its free nationwide registry enables gardeners who’ve grown too much food to easily find food pantries in their area. Families can also use the website to find local food pantries.
Gary noted that with 62 million community gardeners in the U.S., 95,000 master gardeners, and 11 billion pounds of surplus in Americans’ gardens, there are ample sources to donate surplus harvest and combat a root cause of hunger—lack of access to fresh, healthful food.
“Our biggest impact is that we’re helping nourish people with fresh produce that’s been harvested and delivered within hours. The food goes directly from the garden to the pantry at specified times, so it’s fresher than what you find in the supermarket.”
How a food waste map planted the seed
A published map of the United States that showed the amount of food wasted by families state by state caught Gary’s attention. As a long-time home gardener who often couldn’t use up his bounty before it went bad, he started thinking about how and where to donate his unused produce. While volunteering at the West Milford community garden, gardeners there expressed concern about rotting produce that went unused—and the lack of local food pantries for donations. It all clicked and in May 2009, he founded AmpleHarvest.org to help gardeners find food pantries via an online database.
“Gardeners have an emotional attachment to the produce they’ve planted and nurtured. They hate to see all the time and effort they’ve spent go to waste. Being able to donate the actual fruits of their labors provides them with an opportunity to do something good for others that benefits the community and the planet,” said Gary.
Growth through the years
AmpleHarvest.org covers 5600 communities in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. In 2022, it rolled out a program adapted for Native American reservations, and its Faith Fights Food Waste educates clergy about food waste and the potential for their congregations to donate home-gardened produce.
Through many collaborations with companies and nonprofits, AmpleHarvest.org’s message and platform are shared widely. The organization receives support from Google to run online ads, is active on all social media networks, and is listed on the Obama White House website. Gary is a frequent public speaker at global and national conferences about food waste and hunger, the role of donated produce in improving nutrition, and how nonprofits can use technology to expand their reach—much as he is doing now.
Ever the techy, Gary is harnessing artificial intelligence to find food pantries more quickly, combing through a nationwide list of retail garden stores and supply houses to find those centers with food pantries within 10 miles and get them on the directory.
“A gardener will drive 20 minutes but not two hours to donate food, so to have a garden center with several pantries within driving distance is a goal,” he explained.
On achieving recognition
Gary has been honored numerous times over the years for his tireless work to help gardeners put their unused produce into the hands of people in need. Among his honors are a CNN hero, World Food Prize nominee, Points of Light Tribute winner, Purpose Prize Fellow, and the Russell Berrie Making a Difference award in 2011.
“MADA was such a powerful affirmation that I was doing the right thing,” said Gary. “I was privileged and humbled to be nominated alongside others who were doing such amazing work in the community.”
He has attended nearly every award ceremony since his own and enjoys meeting other honorees—some with whom he has collaborated. He has coached and mentored other MADA honorees as they build out their nonprofits, and he freely shares AmpleHarvest.org’s extensive food pantry directory with organizations searching for pantries in their areas.
To join the AmpleHarvest.org email list and receive news and updates, go to https://ampleharvest.org/contact-us.
