In the midst of a Food Salvation Crisis, Farm to Pantry onboards Star Chef/Farmer Duskie Estes
The Californer/10073747

HEALDSBURG, Calif. - Californer -- In the US, nearly 40% of food is wasted, normally. Food waste is now exacerbated in the face of pandemic, while food banks are running out of food. This surge of people with food insecurity and food gluts going to waste does not sit well with Duskie Estes. Estes, who has two decades of dedication to ethical sourcing and advocacy for small farmers under her belt, felt compelled to act, returning her focus to fighting food insecurity. And she intends to do just that as the new Executive Director for Farm to Pantry (FTP). Estes, "Witnessing both the urgent need for food with unemployment numbers hitting those we saw in 1940 and farmers in a harvesting and distribution 'pickle,' I see the FTP nonprofit model as a remarkable answer to arrest food waste. I am ready to lead FTP to help all of Sonoma County."

Estes has always been dedicated to hunger relief, even as she, her restaurant ZAZU and her Black Pig Meat Company were becoming famous in the food world: Top Best New Restaurant, Michelin-rated, San Francisco's Top 50 Restaurants, Rising Star Chef Award for Sustainability, Best New Chef, Food Network's Next Iron Chef, a judge on Guy's Grocery Games and featured on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives.

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To augment the goal of raising Farm to Pantry's profile, the board has enlisted wine industry Public Relations 20-year veteran, Kelly Conrad, as PR & Communications Specialist. "I have volunteered as a gleaner as well as at food banks. To be able to see the journey of the produce we glean in local farms go to the food pantries and then see them placed in the hands of those facing food insecurity is profoundly enriching. I am honored and eager to assist Farm to Pantry in their mission of making a formidable impact on addressing the astonishing amount of food waste in our communities," says Conrad.

There are crops with rotting produce due to lack of farm staff to harvest them and lack of buyers for harvested food; perishable foods are being outright discarded because they are not picked in time or go unsold before its expiration date. All this is occurring at a time when there is a massive increase in American citizens needing food assistance. Food banks and pantries are running out of food, unable to keep up with the spike in demand. "It drives me crazy to know there are oranges, greens and other produce being abandoned out there when there are hungry mouths to feed," says Estes. "Food security is within our reach; we just need to mobilize and expand Farm to Pantry to salvage those crops and get the food to those needing assistance."