Salvation Farms asks Senate for $100,000 to expand processing of farm surplus into meals

Salvation Farms on Wednesday asked the Vermont Senate Agriculture Committee for $100,000 in operating support to expand a processing program that turns surplus farm produce into frozen, ready-to-use products for schools, prisons and charitable food programs.

Kelly Dolan, the executive director of Salvation Farms, told the committee the nonprofit works "at the intersection of farm viability and food access" and that surplus food is often "high quality food grown from people that isn't reaching traditional markets." She cited the organization's estimate that "about 14.3 million pounds of vegetables and berries from Vermont farms end up as food loss each year." Dolan said Salvation Farms’ model purchases surplus at a lower price point, contracts processing and then sells the finished product to institutions at a lower cost to meet restrictive budgets.

Why it matters: Committee members and staff framed the program as a dual-market solution that…