Society of St. Andrew Celebrates One Billion Pounds of Donated Food Since 1979
The Society of St. Andrew (SoSA) is a national hunger relief organization that was founded in 1979 in Big Island, Virginia by two United Methodist ministers - Ray Buchanan and Ken Horne. The founders identified the ongoing problems of hunger and food waste and resolved to do something about it. Farmers and growers were asked to donate their surplus or unmarketable crops.
"In 45 years, we've grown to have regional offices in 10 states. Our newest office is in the Delmarva region. We use volunteer labor to go out in orchards or fields and we pick, dig, or gather the leftover produce. And then we donate it for free to church food panties, food banks, senior living facilities, Veterans facilities, and at-risk youth programs. And I have to say there's nothing more satisfying than picking peaches and then turning around and delivering two crates of peaches to a program like Jubilee Family Development Center," said Chesley Vohden, Director of Church Relations.
Since 1979, SoSA's network of farmers and volunteers have rescued over one billion pounds pf produce and distributed and provided over four billion servings in the United States. It is a common sense solution to hunger and food waste problems.
Vohden said, "Besides being a hunger relief organization, we are the ultimate green ministry. We do reduce food waste. We are cutting down on methane gas due to rotting food in landfills. The water from watering the fields is not going to waste." More than 133 billion pounds of food goes to waste every year, while there are 40 million Americans who are food insecure or hungry. By rescuing healthy food destined for a landfill and delivering it to at-risk communities, SoSA strives to end hunger and save the environment at the same time. In 2023, over 12,018 tons of nourishing food was kept out of landfills, and 2.76 billion gallons of water waste was prevented.
Volunteer: Apple Gleaning
"We pick apples every Wednesday, Thursday and Saturdays until the end of October. We have gleaning on Thanksgiving Day. "Team Glean" is an option for employers and school groups to volunteer in large groups. We visit packing houses, intercept tractor trailer loads of edible food, make trips to Lynchburg Community Market, Forest Farmer's Market and Forest Farmer's Market," said Vohden.
To learn more about the Society of St. Andrew (SoSA) and how to volunteer with this organization, check out their SHARE Greater Lynchburg profile. To see our interview with Chesley Vohden, Director of Church Relations on The Mike Show, click here.