Thursday, September 18, 2014

Baltimore Free Farm -- a Social Justice and Sustainability 'Food Hub'

T-Mello on 2011 Southbound Thru-Hike to Georgia 

As most know, I am a collective member of Baltimore Free Farm a project of Fusion Partnerships.

Our Mission
Baltimore Free Farm is committed to created ecologically sound alternatives by combining the best of age-old and modern technologies. We strive to promote urban agriculture, sustainability, and permaculture through the creation of green spaces and community sanctuaries which utilize reclaimed materials whenever possible. By providing entertainment, educational opportunities, and ethically produced food to local residents, we hope to instill a sense of pride in one's community and its ability to sustain itself.

Food Rescue Day
Every Wednesday members of Baltimore Free Farm go to various produce distributors and grocers to rescue distressed goods <items too ripe to sell or just past their expiration date>. We drive the 300-500 lbs of produce, dry goods, and bread 30 miles back to Baltimore Free Farm for redistribution into the community. This is a direct action against the endemic food waste crisis that faces our society, which pushes 40% of food produced into landfills to rot with the plastics and other non-compostable goods while millions around the world starve. By simply giving perfectly edible food to people who will eat it, Food Rescue Day is the physical manifestation of a conservation about food waste on a local level. Food is given away at 12noon every Wednesday.

 A happy family gets free food on Wednesday September 17th

 Bread, Eggs, Dairy, Veggies, Fruit, and groceries! A whole week's worth to those in need for free!
September 17th 2014

Currently a two year old project, BFF volunteers work from 8am to 3pm making sure things run smoothly. Last winter was rough, but we only missed pick ups once or twice due to adverse road conditions.
September 17th 2014

A regular customer admires his new loaf of bread.
September 17th 2014

San Marzanos produced well this season. BFF also donates home grown veggies to Food Rescue Day.
September 6th 2014


My Proposal = Reason for this and the coming blog posts:
I have a two week window to go backpacking with my friend Jay in Maine. Jay is 'thru' hiking the entire 2185 mile Appalachian Trail. I dropped him off on Springer Mountain summit at the start of the trail in north Georgia on March 22nd. Jay, travelling by trail name 'Beans,' has been travelling on foot since then and just crossed into his final state. He has about 280 miles left to go. As the fall colors filter down from the mountain tops, I will be joining him for the journey.

I propose a 25 cent (that's a quarter of a dollar) donation for each mile I hike on the Appalachian Trail in Maine between now and October 1st. For example, if I begin tomorrow and hike 12 miles a day for 12 days, that's 144 miles x $0.25 = $36.00 Anyone is welcome to donate any amount at any time. Every little bit helps. If money is tight, you can email collective@baltimorefreefarm.org and pledge to volunteer on a Wednesday to help the Food Rescue and distribution efforts. Proceeds will go directly for fuel expenses required to transport hundreds of pounds of food to Baltimore Free Farm each week.

DONATION STATION
Make a tax-deductable donation to Baltimore Free Farm via our 501(c)3 fiscal partner, Fusion Partnerships.



Reagan's rendition of a hitch hiking carrot.
May 2014

A sign I encountered in Wells River, Vermont en route to Appalachian Trail on 
September 18th, 2014.

Dehydrated veggies for donation by Baltimore Free Farm.
Appalachian Trail hikers at White Mountains Lodge and Hiker Hostel in Gorham, NH will carry this light weight nutritious food over Maine's mountains!
September 18th 2014

Tonight I camp with 'Beans' at Grafton Notch Maine. The photo above shows an elevation profile with Grafton Notch near the center of the image. We will be hiking Northbound (to the right in this image) to Katahdin tomorrow!
September 18th 2014

 Wolf Kisses and Papa Shrimp at the trailhead after a quick ride from a gas station in Gorham, NH in the collective van. I made sure they stocked up on dehydrated veggies from Baltimore Free Farm before they left town. At the gas station where I met them, a police officer was initially suspicious when he saw them scooping into a 5 gallon bucket full of spinach flakes. But no worries; these two happen to be vegetarian, so they really appreciated the food.
September 18th 2014

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