Ampleharvest.org wins 2011 Wave of the Future Harvest award

Will be honored at ceremony in New York City West Milford — The AmpleHarvest.org campaign has been selected to receive the 2011 Glynwood Wave of the Future Harvest Award. Glynwood's Harvest Awards honor organizations, farmers and businesses across the United States for innovation and leadership in sustainable agriculture and regional food systems. Since 2003, the Harvest Awards have shined a bright light on these exemplary efforts in order to inspire others. This year, AmpleHarvest.org, along with the other three winners of the Harvest Awards, will participate in a panel discussion open to the public on Monday, Oct. 24 at the 92Y TRIBECA in downtown Manhattan. AmpleHarvest.org was the idea of Gary Oppenheimer of West Milford. It was originally created in 2009 to help America's over 40 million home gardeners share their excess garden bounty with their neighbors in need by providing an online resource listing neighborhood food pantries accepting donations of fresh produce. This is critically important to the tens of millions of Americans who rely on food pantries to help feed their families since food pantries usually don't have access to the fresh food otherwise commonly available at local supermarkets. Nearly 4,500 food pantries spread across all 50 states have registered with more signing up daily. A national map of the registered food pantries can be viewed at www.AmpleHarvest.org/map. Moderated by Glynwood President Judith LaBelle, the winners will discuss their work, their challenges and the models they've created to increase their community's access to locally produced foods. Guests will have the opportunity to speak with the winners at a reception immediately following the event while enjoying small plates prepared with regionally-produced food by chefs whose restaurants support local food on their menus -- Chef Jimmy Carbone, Jimmy's No. 43; Chefs Charles Rodriguez and Heather Carlucci-Rodriguez of Print Restaurant; Chef Bill McDaniel of The Red Cat, and Chef Alex Raij of Txikito as well as Slyboro Ciderhouse and Doc's Draft hard ciders, both produced in New York. “The American food bank network is a very efficient resource helping America's 33,500 plus food pantries purchase processed food very inexpensively but this model does not work well for fresh food, especially locally sourced food," according to Oppenheimer. "AmpleHarvest.org addresses this issue by moving information instead of moving food thereby helping thousands of local food pantries get access to locally grown fresh produce that otherwise would have been thrown away or left to rot in the garden. “AmpleHarvest.org is honored to be the recipient of this award and to get the opportunity to further share our sustainable 'no food left behind' model with others.” For more information on the AmpleHarvest.org campaign, go to www.AmpleHarvest.org or call 267-536-9880. Glynwood's mission is to save farming by strengthening farm communities and regional food systems. The goal is for small and mid-sized farmers to thrive, on the land and in the market place. Located in the Hudson Valley and operating its own sustainably managed farm, Glynwood's unique niche is to empower communities to support farming and conserve farmland through its community programs, public education and leadership in environmentally sustainable agriculture. Major Glynwood programs include Keep Farming™, the Modular Slaughterhouse Initiative, the Glynwood Institute for Sustainable Food and Farming, and the Apple Project: Saving Orchards with Cider. To learn more about Glynwood and its initiatives, visit www.glynwood.org.