Harvest for Hunger initiative urging gardeners to donate extra produce to food pantries
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – For many gardeners, a surplus of vegetables can feed their family for days, but too much produce can many times cause unwanted waste.
The City of Lincoln has come up with a solution for the excess through its newest initiative, ‘Harvest for Hunger.’
The program urges gardeners to donate their extra harvest to food pantries across the city through the website ampleharvest.org.
Growers sign up to participate through the site and then are directed to pantries closest to them that will accept the fresh food.
This initiative first gained roots in April 2026 with the ‘Plant for Hunger’ initiative, which encouraged growers to plant more seeds, keeping in mind the ultimate goal of sharing what they reaped.
Rachel Redepenning is a nutritionist and public health educator with the Lincoln Lancaster Health Department.
She says this program is a win-win for Lincoln.
“Obviously, you know, fresh fruits and vegetables are really important for nutrition and health,” she said.
Adding, “I think it’s just important to remember that food insecurity can happen to anyone, so having that compassion and coming together and looking for ways to help support your neighbors that are experiencing food insecurity is essential and makes a big difference.”
It’s also helping stopping food waste.
Willa DiConstanzo is the Waste Diversion Coordinator for Lincoln Transportation and Utilities.
She says, “We really want to feed people and not landfill.”
DiConstanzo says LTU and its ‘Love LandPhil’ campaign shares the mission of Harvest for Hunger.
“We know that across America, nearly 40% of all food is wasted from farm to your household. So, we really want to make sure that food goes through campaigns such as this.”
Their mascot, Phil, clearly on board with the plan as he greeted Lincolnites in the Haymarket on Wednesday.
Food pantries are also grateful for the initiative.
Reverend Katherine Ebling-Frazier manages a pantry out of Connection Point Church.
“Our numbers here at the food pantry have continued to go up,” she said.
“I think it’s really important to realize that so many families have lost access to SNAP and EBT, especially new Americans, and they count on these ingredients.”
Ebling-Frazier adds, “Anything you can give would help. When we get a cucumber here, I literally rejoice some weeks because that might be the only cucumber we have.”
If you would like to help fill the shelves of food pantries in Lincoln, you can sign up at ampleharvest.org.
