SIGN UP FOR LEAP'S MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
This past month, a farmer reached out to us with a familiar challenge. They needed to clear their spinach bed to prepare it for summer crops. They sold what they could to their regular clients (LEAP included) but were left with 27 pounds of spinach unsold! Rather than letting all that fresh spinach go to waste (or compost) and losing income opportunity on the excess crop, we had another solution ready for them. LEAP purchased the remaining harvest at a discounted price and assembled the team for a “light processing” project (anyone remember Operation Save the Butternut??). Light processing means we process our food by hand into products that retain their quality and nutritional integrity. Here’s how that looks.
Every week, LEAP buys produce from local farmers and regional food hubs. All the food is received in the LEAP Hub where it is sorted for distribution through our various programs. LEAP Hub staff have a complicated process of allocating food to go out in the LEAP Farm Shares, Mobile Market, or Community Store. Some products may become slightly damaged in the process of transportation, sorting, or sale (an apple is bruised, an item doesn’t sell). Other times, farmers or food hubs have surplus amounts or imperfect produce they can’t sell through their usual channels. LEAP can buy this food directly, enabling farmers and hubs to make a sale on items that are “unsellable” while diverting food from being wasted.
LEAP is equipped in scenarios such as these to process “unwanted” food, saving it from being binned, creating a new sales outlet for farmers, and offering it to customers at an affordable price. Our processing kitchen works hard to save vegetables and fruits that are produced in surplus, misshapen or have a blemish, or will not sell in our retail markets. Chef Jeff and a devoted crew of interns and volunteers turn this extra produce into frozen and dried value-added products, such as frozen soups, sauces, and veggie packs or dried apple chips.
By offering these products, LEAP preserves the nutritional value of the food while giving customers a convenient way to eat healthy, local food. It can help people with limited time or experience with cooking to have an easy, affordable option. Many of our clients are busy, do not have kitchen space to cook, or the physical ability to cut and chop vegetables. Freezing or drying the food allows us to offer the produce out of peak season, especially for some products (strawberries!) that have such a short but delicious season.
Many products we produce have no added salt, sugar, or fat which makes them eligible for our discount produce programs—Virginia Fresh Match and Harvest Bucks—just like fresh fruits and vegetables. Purchasing perishable produce on a limited budget can be risky. Being able to offer a frozen version and have discounts for that produce (fresh or frozen) is another step towards making local produce accessible to all.
Step 1: Wash – Once vegetables and fruits are sorted and deemed useable, they are washed and readied for preparation.
Step 2: Prep – The next step is peeling, cutting, chopping, removing stems, cores, pits, and any blemishes.
Step 3: Prepare or Cook to Freeze – Vegetables like spinach can take up a large amount of space when raw. All of this raw spinach filled these three containers to overflowing. After steaming, the spinach takes up only a small portion of space compared to when it was raw. 27 pounds of raw spinach yielded 26 pounds of cooked spinach (heavier but more dense).
There are times where we process large amounts of product for use at later times. In this instance, we saved some spinach for future soup recipes. Some of it was packaged to be sold as frozen spinach. If food doesn’t freeze well on its own, it’s onto cooking or drying.
Step 4: Cool Cooked Food – Once prepared, processed vegetables are cooled quickly using our state-of-the-art blast chiller and freezer. LEAP takes food safety seriously and all of our standards exceed what is required by the FDA to keep foods safe.
Step 5: Package & Freeze – After cooling, we begin the packaging process. Soups are packaged into pint containers and cut vegetables are packaged using a method called IQF or “individually quick frozen.” Products which are going to be used at later times, like this spinach, are flash frozen in bulk.
Step 6: EAT! This process allows LEAP to use these products when fresh is not available during the off seasons. These crops can then be turned into soups, dips, fillings and other inspired items developed by our Processing Kitchen manager.
Our efforts to save food helps us achieve so many things at once—diverting unnecessary food waste means more people get to eat fresh food and farmers earn more for their work. It’s a win-win and we love doing it (not just because the food is so delicious)!
Interested in getting involved?
All of this is only possible with a true community effort, and LEAP is hugely grateful to the dedicated volunteers who help with the processing and packaging of these foods. If you’re interesting in becoming a “Food Waste Warrior” aka Processing Kitchen Volunteer, sign up today!