Hobart and William Smith Colleges
IN-24: Innovation A

The Little Free Farmstands (LFFs)are centralized places within Geneva's USDA defined food desert for community members to give, take, or swap fresh produce for free. This stand is a place where community members can share their excess produce, rather than it going to waste, with those that can use it. With daily visitation and regular foot traffic, Geneva Peeps, a local egg/chicken Co-op and Community Garden, seemed like an ideal location for sharing excess food; preventing food waste and getting fresh food into the mouths that crave it. It was thought that the adjacent Geneva Peeps Community Garden users would likely have excess food production at times, as well; not to mention the thousands of pounds of food that go to waste on nearby farm fields. Other recoverable food is donated by CSA shareholders, often times given an excess amount of produce or have undesirable items on a weekly basis; or by farm vendors participating in the Geneva Farmers Market with unsold, expiring goods. In early 2018, the FLI Food Systems Program proposed to the HWS Fribolin Farm Committee to construct a second Little Free Farmstand to coincide with the HWS Fribolin Farm Chefs’ Collaborative Garden Project’s traditional intention to ‘grow to give’. In 2018, local chef volunteers grew and donated over 750 lbs [check #] of produce to support food security causes in Geneva, especially to the Little Free Farmstands, from their 2,600ft2 garden. Growers around the Geneva and surrounding areas make contributions to the stands not only because they value it as a place to get rid of their excess food, but because they recognize it as a place to act out kindness and care for their neighbors without having to know them personally; that there are people in need in Geneva who could possibly use the excess food they have. The goal of the farmstand is to provide a place where people can feel comfortable both giving and taking (without asking, being asked, or demonstration) without stigma, as the giving, taking, and swapping at the stands are anonymous. Through social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram, the stands are marketed and promoted and the public is able to see what produce the stand has available at somewhat real-time. Many of the givers to the stand feel a sense of dedication to the Geneva community; these personal attachments to the community incentivize them to give generously to the Little Free Farmstands. The Little Free Farmstand project aids in distributing hundreds of pounds of food to Geneva residents, some of which would more likely been wasted prior to the stand installations.

https://www2.hws.edu/fribolin-farm-teaches-lessons-for-life/