Most of us leave the Torrance Farmers Market thinking about what we brought home.

 

A group of volunteers is thinking about what didn’t sell.

 

Food Forward operates a Farmers Market Recovery program at Torrance’s Certified Farmers Market, where volunteers collect fresh surplus fruits and vegetables donated by market vendors. The food is then boxed, sorted and weighed before 100% of the recovered produce is directed to hunger-relief organizations rather than going to waste.

 

The work is known as gleaning, an old idea with a very modern purpose: recover good food that would otherwise be discarded and get it to people who can use it.

 

Food Forward currently schedules volunteer gleans at Torrance’s Tuesday and Saturday markets at Wilson Park throughout the month. Upcoming September opportunities include Tuesday sessions from approximately 12:30 to 2 p.m., with additional Saturday opportunities appearing on the volunteer calendar.

 

Volunteers generally need to be at least 12 years old, with younger teens accompanied by a parent or guardian. The work can include collecting donations from vendors and lifting, sorting and packing boxes of produce.

 

The Torrance Certified Farmers Market itself operates every Tuesday and Saturday at Wilson Park, where dozens of California growers sell fresh produce directly to the public.

 

It is easy to overlook what happens when the shoppers leave.

 

But week after week, a few volunteers stay behind and make sure that perfectly good food gets another destination instead of another dumpster.

 

That is Local Love in a box.

 

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