Great News!!!
We got approved to work with https://foodrescue.us !!!
This gives us access to their coordination software and web app for free!
We can use the app to sign up food contributors & food distributors. Then volunteers can sign up to pick up from one and drop off to the other (basically logistics).
We can also operate under their aegis which gives us local credibility and also allows us to use their 501c3 non-profit status. So anyone donating to us can use it as a tax writeoff. They also provide our donors/contributors with quarterly and yearly statements for tax purposes. There's some other offerings, but thats the chunk!
A food rescue group from DC has already reached out to us to offer support and guidance!
It'll take around a week to get onboarded and then we'll start using it to scale out.
#foodRescue #foodSecurity #mutualAid #solarPunk
Ok, been a bit since I gave a Food Rescue Program update.
We're still in onboarding for Food Rescue US. I pushed back on some of the contract language and we're sorting it out. Nothing major and they're awesome, it just takes some time.
In the mean time, I've spun up a web site, a discord chat, and a monthly meeting at the library!
We held our first in person meeting and it was a major success! We're pushing Food Rescue initiatives as well as expanding our Free Fridge program!
Folks had amazing ideas and have already started running down those leads.
I told them I'm not the leader. I'll facilitate and help guide and help remove obstacles and provide ideas but I can't do it all and they shouldn't wait on me to approve anything.
Ideas are put up to the group to discuss and shy of any major ethical concerns, usually folks gather up others and go and get it done.
This is going really well.
#solarPunk #foodRescue #mutualAid
While waiting for the paperwork to go through for that national food rescue org, I'm still going to do food rescue manually.
Another donut haul! I dont know how many donuts. Lost count.
Anyhow. had to find space in the free fridge for it. Folks had added even more fresh veggies and bread and salads, so I had to get creative making room for my deserts. 😅
Edit: Ignore the lighting in the fridge. It was night time and I used a flash. Makes things weird colors. Anyhoo.
#freeFridge #foodRescue #mutualAid #solarPunk #postScarcity #foodSecurity
Great News!!!
We got approved to work with https://foodrescue.us !!!
This gives us access to their coordination software and web app for free!
We can use the app to sign up food contributors & food distributors. Then volunteers can sign up to pick up from one and drop off to the other (basically logistics).
We can also operate under their aegis which gives us local credibility and also allows us to use their 501c3 non-profit status. So anyone donating to us can use it as a tax writeoff. They also provide our donors/contributors with quarterly and yearly statements for tax purposes. There's some other offerings, but thats the chunk!
A food rescue group from DC has already reached out to us to offer support and guidance!
It'll take around a week to get onboarded and then we'll start using it to scale out.
#foodRescue #foodSecurity #mutualAid #solarPunk
Ok! Had a technical demo of the web app for food rescue.
I think we're going to go with them.
Solid desktop app that scales well for mobile.
Its a lightweight org with a small budget but they're doing a lot with it. Feature rich currently and does everything i need it to do so far as coordinating between the food rescue sites, the food distribution sites, and the gleaners connecting the two.
Once we get it up and running officially, i'll post it here.
#foodRescue #foodSecurity #mutualAid #solarPunk #postScarcity
While waiting for the paperwork to go through for that national food rescue org, I'm still going to do food rescue manually.
Another donut haul! I dont know how many donuts. Lost count.
Anyhow. had to find space in the free fridge for it. Folks had added even more fresh veggies and bread and salads, so I had to get creative making room for my deserts. 😅
Edit: Ignore the lighting in the fridge. It was night time and I used a flash. Makes things weird colors. Anyhoo.
#freeFridge #foodRescue #mutualAid #solarPunk #postScarcity #foodSecurity
Update on my Food Rescue Initiative for my local town!!!
Two Things.
One, I've been getting hooked up with the local mutual aid crowd in my town and met some wonderful people recently!!! One of them is an organizer and is very very interested in creating more Free Fridges throughout town annnnnnd is very interested in setting up a Food Rescue program!
So her and I have been teaming up to get it done.
Two, we just had a meeting with a national (United States) group that has their own web app for coordinating between food contributors (the places that create the food and would otherwise throw out the good food that wasn't sold), food distributors, and the gleaners / volunteers who connect the two... basically logistics.
It was a good meeting and we may start to work under their aegis.
We're doing a technical demo of the web app this week hopefully.
If we decide to go with them, I'll put the update here.
I'm excited!!!
#solarPunk #foodRescue #foodSecurity
Ok! Had a technical demo of the web app for food rescue.
I think we're going to go with them.
Solid desktop app that scales well for mobile.
Its a lightweight org with a small budget but they're doing a lot with it. Feature rich currently and does everything i need it to do so far as coordinating between the food rescue sites, the food distribution sites, and the gleaners connecting the two.
Once we get it up and running officially, i'll post it here.
#foodRescue #foodSecurity #mutualAid #solarPunk #postScarcity
I'm starting up a Food Rescue program in my town.
The idea is that restaurants and stores throw away good food every night. Food rescue (also known as "gleaning") is where a person (Food Rescue Hero or Gleaner) goes to stores/restaurants and takes the good food that would otherwise be thrown out and provides it to hungry folks (either distributed centrally through a food pantry, decentrally through a free fridge / community pantry, or peer-to-peer directly to a person or family).
I'm currently researching tracking and coordination apps (such as foodrescue.us and others) but in the process of doing this I found myself at a local donut shop asking if they had 5-gallon food safe buckets that they could give away for hydroponics (i had received a tip!). They said they did and we started talking about food rescue. They said they had tried to donate their unsold donuts to a couple of pantries but no one could ever pick them up. I told them I would.
...and look what they provided!!!
My first food rescue, y'all!!!
3 dozen donuts!
I ran them straight to the free fridge! They can do this every night!!!
So cheers to Freddy Donuts in Fredericksburg, Virginia!
#foodRescue #freeFridge #communityPantry #foodSecurity #mutualAid #solarPunk
Update on my Food Rescue Initiative for my local town!!!
Two Things.
One, I've been getting hooked up with the local mutual aid crowd in my town and met some wonderful people recently!!! One of them is an organizer and is very very interested in creating more Free Fridges throughout town annnnnnd is very interested in setting up a Food Rescue program!
So her and I have been teaming up to get it done.
Two, we just had a meeting with a national (United States) group that has their own web app for coordinating between food contributors (the places that create the food and would otherwise throw out the good food that wasn't sold), food distributors, and the gleaners / volunteers who connect the two... basically logistics.
It was a good meeting and we may start to work under their aegis.
We're doing a technical demo of the web app this week hopefully.
If we decide to go with them, I'll put the update here.
I'm excited!!!
#solarPunk #foodRescue #foodSecurity
Folks have asked me how to find and build community.
Here is a very pragmatic and approachable way to find the community in your local town or neighborhood.
A little of bit of the concept with a focus on praxis.
So if you're new to community and mutual aid, don't think about what you can build. You're going to be wrong. People have already tried what you're thinking and dropped it back at version 0.3 - Everyone is on 8.2c right now.
So join what exists. Once you get good at it, then you can build out from there - with the knowledge of what is actually needed and works.
Quick note: Things are working. You're just not hearing about it via corporate news. Because it doesn't make those corps money. But its working and has been working. Glad you are joining us now! I think you'll be very pleasantly surprised as what exists around you and what you've been missing out on. Everyone joins at some point. Glad you're here now.
How do you find what exists?
The simple answer is, via community. But you haven't joined the community, so how do you find community without the community!
Since you're here, on the internet, let's start with the internet.
One thing: Folks building and running mutual aid aren't always building and running websites. They're meeting actual people doing physical things in the world. So their websites suck. Also, putting things out publicly runs the risk of inviting the nose of town government and their police forces. Sometimes posting publicly is a BAD IDEA. So they don't. You understand OpSec. They understand it better.
But, you certainly can start on the internet to find a "doorway".
Mutual Aid and community is DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT from charities/non-profits. I won't go into it here, but the two (mutual aid and charities/non-profits) aren't the same and actually opposed to each other.
Buuuuuut.....
Folks overlap between the two.
So I might focus on mutual aid, but I'll work with some charities because their apparatus furthers a mutual aid goal in the immediacy.
With that in mind, you can search out charities on the internet. They are well established there and are often upheld by local govt and churches. So they're protected.
Certainly go find some charities that align with your "one thing" (the thing you'll focus on now until you learn about more).
The big thing though, is the charity is not the goal. The people that work there are the goal. You are building a network. So go and meet people but BE FUCKING CHILL about your goals. You start spouting off mutual aid and bad things happen. So just be quiet and listen (this being quiet and listening is going to be your main skill to develop for a long while... so embrace it now).
You'll mostly find old boomers in retirement and religious folks with some politicians. They are charity folks. Great. But you're looking for folks that don't fit those molds. You're looking for the hippies, the socialists, the anarchists, the folks who have grown up poor and now have some means. "One of these things is not like the other". Find the anomalies and follow their lead.
You're going to sit in these charities for months while you meet people. Listen to "small talk". If it's Jesus focused, just smile and nod and praise god.
But if it's apparatus building and working with other groups, those are the conversations you want to join in on.
I'll say that again:
If the conversation is about WORKING WITH OTHER GROUPS on shared goals... get in on that. I don't care if its other charities. Get in on it.
After a while, you'll start meeting folks that are building real mutual aid. Learn the initiatives in your area and you'll find and settle into the groups that are doing work but not advertising on social media about it.
So.
Where to start?
Pick one of the following areas (there are more, but these are entry points):
- Food.
- Homeless outreach.
- Literacy / schooling.
- Political access and voting.
Just pick one area and find groups that do that thing. Don't worry about picking the right one. You're going to be moving around for a bit while you learn, so its fine. They all flow.
For Food: Find your local Food Bank and Food Pantries. Feeding America is a good start. Look there. Food Banks need lots of volunteers. Find a thing you can do and do it. Local churches act as Food Pantries. Go to those and help hand out food. If you're really lucky, find a place that makes and serves hot food. DO THAT!!! You'll get real close to mutual aid right away.
For Homeless outreach, look up local shelters - sure. Shelters tend TO ABSOLUTELY SUCK!!! So your mileage may vary. Look for places that gather up clothes and coats and hand them out. Look for places that serve the homeless communities and do that.
For Literacy and schooling, look up various elementary schools, libraries, and the same. After school programs for children. Boys and Girls clubs and the like as well. If you have kids, talk with your school counselors and ask them about the school programs that serve under-privileged families.
For political access and voting, don't join a political party. Instead find local orgs that focus on registering people for voting. The NAACP shines in this. You don't have to be black to join the NAACP. Local DSA (Democratic Socialists of America) are also a good place to look.
Great. So how do you find them?
A quick note on internet searches just to get it out of the way: Search for "city or town name" and:
- "food bank"
- "food pantry"
- "mutual aid"
- "after school programs"
- "voter advocacy"
- "homeless shelter"
- "women's shelter"
- "town resources"
- "library"
On that last note: The BEST PLACE TO START is your local library.
Just go hang out in the library for a while. They post A LOT of stuff for the town. Classes, resources, groups, events, etc. And by "post" I actually mean physical posts. Fliers on the wall and on physical "announcement boards". The librarians themselves are great. Just ask them. They're there to help. Literally.
In fact, don't approach looking for these groups as a volunteer (I hate that word). Don't approach them as a person looking to contribute and build.
Instead, approach these groups as a person who could benefit from them. So for food, ask the librarians to help you find "food pantries for distributions". The libraries are geared to help the community. So get all the info on that, and then flip it around and go to the food pantries and ask how you can help.
So. Internet search for groups is an okay start. But go to the local library and ask.
All you need is ONE WAY in. Once you find some sort of group doing something - anything... go there. Then meet the people. Find a stray community worker that also works there and learn from them. Then find out about the other groups that meet and are building and doing. Go to those in person meetings and spread from there.
(Ask questions in this thread and I and others will give you ideas.)
Also, if you need help finding those initial groups, DM me with your town name and I'll give you a list of groups that you can start with.
#solarPunk #mutualAid #community
I'm starting up a Food Rescue program in my town.
The idea is that restaurants and stores throw away good food every night. Food rescue (also known as "gleaning") is where a person (Food Rescue Hero or Gleaner) goes to stores/restaurants and takes the good food that would otherwise be thrown out and provides it to hungry folks (either distributed centrally through a food pantry, decentrally through a free fridge / community pantry, or peer-to-peer directly to a person or family).
I'm currently researching tracking and coordination apps (such as foodrescue.us and others) but in the process of doing this I found myself at a local donut shop asking if they had 5-gallon food safe buckets that they could give away for hydroponics (i had received a tip!). They said they did and we started talking about food rescue. They said they had tried to donate their unsold donuts to a couple of pantries but no one could ever pick them up. I told them I would.
...and look what they provided!!!
My first food rescue, y'all!!!
3 dozen donuts!
I ran them straight to the free fridge! They can do this every night!!!
So cheers to Freddy Donuts in Fredericksburg, Virginia!
#foodRescue #freeFridge #communityPantry #foodSecurity #mutualAid #solarPunk
Update on the local Seed Library (see previous posts in this thread for background)!
We've got official approval to start building it out!
We'll start the official planning, building, and then community awareness initiatives and concurrent programming and training!
Yay free seeds for the town!
Yay free classes on gardening and hydroponics!
Gardening is one thing. Community is another thing entirely.
Build community. Feed each other.
#solarPunk #hydroponics #indoorGardening #gardening #urbanGardening
THEY DID IT!!!!
My local library built the seed library!
The local Master Gardeners provided a lot of the intitial seeds (oh my gosh we are stocked!!!). They used an old card catalogue to store them. Today's the kickoff!
The idea is you "check out seeds" from the library, plant/grow/harvest, let some go to seed, then "return the seeds" back to the library!
Free seeds for everyone!
Editing to add my library's Seed Library web site: https://www.librarypoint.org/seed-library/
#solarPunk #postScarcity #gardening #mutualAid #seedLibrary #earthDay
Great news! My library got back to me!
They're interested in building out a seed library as well!!!
YAYAYAYAY!!!!!!
I'm developing some basic classes on how to do low-budget, simple, indoor (in any space) hydroponics. I'm also building out some starter kits to give away.
I'll see if the local library would like me to give these courses and kits when the seed library gets built as a way to promote it and get word out to the local community.
#solarPunk #seedLibrary #postScarcity #libraryEconomy #indoorGardening #urbanGardening
Update on the local Seed Library (see previous posts in this thread for background)!
We've got official approval to start building it out!
We'll start the official planning, building, and then community awareness initiatives and concurrent programming and training!
Yay free seeds for the town!
Yay free classes on gardening and hydroponics!
Gardening is one thing. Community is another thing entirely.
Build community. Feed each other.
#solarPunk #hydroponics #indoorGardening #gardening #urbanGardening
Alright, sent an email to the head of my local library about setting up a seed library there.
Seeds libraries are places you can go and "check out" seeds. Grow the seeds. Let one of the grown plants go to seed. Harvest the seeds. Then "return" the seeds back to the seed library!
Free seeds!!!!
Check and see if you have a seed library near you: https://www.communityseednetwork.org/map/
Or connect and share seeds with folks online:
https://exchange.seedsavers.org
#solarPunk #seedLibrary #libraryEconomy #urbanGardening
Great news! My library got back to me!
They're interested in building out a seed library as well!!!
YAYAYAYAY!!!!!!
I'm developing some basic classes on how to do low-budget, simple, indoor (in any space) hydroponics. I'm also building out some starter kits to give away.
I'll see if the local library would like me to give these courses and kits when the seed library gets built as a way to promote it and get word out to the local community.
#solarPunk #seedLibrary #postScarcity #libraryEconomy #indoorGardening #urbanGardening
Tinker ☀
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