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| Who are we? River Cities Harvest is a non-profit, volunteer driven group that solicits surplus food and transports it to social service agencies that feed needy people. We are part of USA Harvest, a network of food programs across the United States. How did we get started? A group of Ashland Inc. employees started River Cities Harvest in 1991 as a way to help Community Kitchen serve food to the hungry in Ashland, KY. The group affiliated with USA Harvest soon after. In its first year, RCH collected 40,000 pounds of food. By 2008, that number had risen to more than 250,000 pounds. Today, the agency has a part-time coordinator, but still relies on volunteers for all the daily food pickups. Why is there a need? The number of hungry people grows daily in our community. River Cities Harvest provides a consistent, reliable means to get food to people, at no extra cost to the community or participating organizations. Where do we get our food? We collect prepared food from restaurants, grocery stores, hospitals and bakeries. We collect canned food regularly from Boyd County Bingo and from special events like the National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive, and the Friday Food Feud (at high school football games), Summer Motion |
festival,
promotions by local businesses and from national organizations like
Feed the Children. River Cities Harvest also collaborates with Boyd
County Farmers Market to collect fresh produce from customers and
farmers, and with Boyd County Fair to have livestock donated, bringing
thousands of pounds of fresh meat to local agencies. Where does our food go? We are a major supplier for the only program in Ashland that provide free hot meals on a regular basis - Community Kitchen. Other regular recipients of food recovered by RCH include Safe Harbor, Hillcrest-Bruce Mission, Shelter of Hope, Salvation Army, church food pantries, local school resource centers, Helping Hands in Greenup County and City Welfare Mission in Ironton, OH. Are donors protected from liability? Food donors to RCH are protected from liability by Federal Law H.R. 2428, the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, which "exempts those who recover or donate apparently fit food and groceries from criminal or civil liability arising from those activities." The law is intended to encourage the charitable and well-intentioned donation of food to the needy, while preserving governmental authority to protect health and food safety. |
Why do our
donors give? "We bake our bread fresh each day, so we have a lot of leftover. It would be a waste for us to throw it in the trash. As corporate citizens, we like to give back to the community by giving this bread to people who might need it." Doug Murray, Panera Bread "Every day, I get asked to lend my name to some worthy cause, but none is more important that River Cities Harvest. I find it almost incomprehensible that in this, the wealthiest nation on earth, that one in four children go to be hungry. My friends at River Cities Harvest are doing something about it. They are angels." Naomi Judd "River Cities Harvest ensures that any of our surplus food items are delivered to the hungry here in Ashland. When fluctuations in consumer sales occur, it is nice to know that our surplus is benefiting the community." Tim Powell, Kroger Location In late 2007, RCH opened its new office and warehouse at 2516 Carter Avenue in The Neighborhood, Ashland's new home for area non-profits. This new location has allowed River Cities Harvest to better serve those agencies that directly feed the hungry. |