When Anne Rauscher isn’t tilling her own garden at her Mason home, she’s helping others acquire fresh produce from gardens throughout the Lansing area. As the director of the Garden Project, a program within the Greater Lansing Food Bank, Rauscher organizes volunteers to collect produce from area farms and distributes it to low-income individuals and organizations that serve those in need. Rauscher said it helps fulfill people’s needs for freshly grown food and keeps a focus on local fare.
As long as farms are producing crops, the project tries to keep food flowing to places, Rauscher said. The importance of the program became evident to her when one woman who moved from one housing complex to another called to make sure she could still receive rations.
“That was neat to hear it was an important part of her life, and when she moved that, it moved with her,” Rauscher said.
What’s available to distribute depends on the harvest. This year’s sweet corn crop, Rauscher explained, was less than past years, so less was given away. Some crops that were prevalent this year included apples, onions, potatoes and eggplant. Keeping in mind who will use what crops is also an important consideration, she added.
“Last week, we were distributing a whole van load of eggplant, and so when we come across a more unusual crop, we try and think of who could use it and who would know how to use it,” Rauscher said.
When they can, Garden Project volunteers offer recipes to accompany the foods they distribute that would be realistic for recipients to prepare.
“With eggplant, we try to target more of the international population,” Rauscher said. “We thought with Asian folks and Middle Eastern folks, it might be more part of their cuisine.”
Rauscher has been involved with gleaning, or collecting crops over time to redistribute for about two years.
“I appreciate a chance to get your hands dirty to connect with the natural world, making sure everybody has a chance to garden, as well as the larger picture,” she said. “Thinking about our food system and how we can build a stronger local food system and that has both an environmental and social impact.”
The Garden Project also maintains community gardens that people can rent out to grow their own food. This is common for people living in apartments or complexes without yards. The gardens range in size, with the largest being 25 feet by 25 feet.
Helping others find their green thumb also is part of the Garden Project. Phil Throop, the program’s gardening and gleaning supervisor, helps people start up their own gardens by providing tilling tips, tools they can borrow and basic plants to get them started.
After spending a few years doing horticulture research at MSU, Throop decided to venture into another garden, joining the Garden Project six years ago. He said the simple job is satisfying.
“I like that it contributes to the community,” Throop said. “It helps provide a little more stable food system for people that are between and still have access to good food. That’s my favorite end of it is that it helps the community.”
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