Tenmile Farm Foundation Launches in New York City

New Non-Profit Joining Fight Against Food Insecurity by Partnering with Emergency Food Programs Like City Harvest to Feed More People Better

Tenmile Farm Foundation's 80-Acre Farm in Dover Plains, New York has Delivered over 65,000 Pounds of Fresh Fruits, Vegetables and Protein in First Harvest

NEW YORK, Sept. 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Tenmile Farm Foundation, a new nonprofit organization that works collaboratively with emergency food programs to empower them to more effectively serve their communities, is launching today alongside its inaugural partner City Harvest. The Tenmile Farm Foundation is reimagining emergency food supply to feed more people better by partnering with organizations tackling food insecurity to help them identify their incremental food supply needs and then growing food to meet those specific requirements. The non-profit is launching as its fully operational farm in Dover Plains, New York, specifically dedicated to growing food for partner organizations, has delivered over 65,000 pounds of fresh fruits, vegetables and protein in its first harvest to partners across the region, including City Harvest.

The Tenmile Farm Foundation's vision for a new food supply and funding model will help emergency food programs operate more community-focused, efficient kitchens and pantries that feed more people better by complementing food rescue with targeted supply. Tenmile works with organizations in three ways: as a consultative strategic partner offering operational support with planning and documentation, as a direct, custom-grow food supplier via their new 80-acre farm in Upstate New York and as a matchmaker, offering access to other complementary organizations, all to help partners better meet their individual missions and the unique needs of the people they serve. The foundation also provides additional accounting, logistical and fundraising support.

"We think there's a better way to fund and supply emergency food programs, starting with a strategic supply of locally grown resources that are predictably delivered to help these organizations meet their mission goals more efficiently," said Lynn Edens, the Founder of the Tenmile Farm Foundation. "We also believe that working together to document the process and results will demonstrate this in a way that creates access to incremental funding for their critically important work."

"Tenmile's service to hunger relief programs starts by asking them what vegetables and fruits they need to consistently provide their communities with high quality, nutritious, culturally relevant food and then growing specifically to meet those needs, not just sending them what we think they might need and hoping for the best, "said Gibson Durnford, the Foundation's Executive Director. "We are hoping to reimagine emergency food supply and to be a model for these organizations in every community."

"City Harvest is thrilled to be an inaugural partner of the Tenmile Farm Foundation," said Ellen Granger, Senior Manager of Donor Relations and Supply Chain at City Harvest. "Right now, nearly 3 million New Yorkers are struggling to make ends meet. Thanks to the support of the Tenmile Farm Foundation, many more of our neighbors in need will have fresh, nutritious produce on their tables. Together, we will feed our city—now and in the years to come." 

The Tenmile Farm Foundation operates an 80-acre farm in the Dover Plains region of New York where they grow fruits and vegetables and raise protein to meet the incremental food supply needs of emergency food programs across the Tri-State area. Starting in Spring 2024, the foundation will also provide a commercial kitchen and aggregation point, working to collect, process, store and distribute food across the region and making its kitchen and related facilities available to local farmers and other food purveyors in the region. In addition to partnering with City Harvest, the Tenmile Farm Foundation is also currently supplying food for Food of Life (Comida de Vida), North East Community Center, Rap4Bronx Mobile Pantry, IPC Helping Hands Pantry, United Bronx Parents Inc., Part of the Solution and Morrisania Revitalization, and will continue to expand its organizational partner roster in the months ahead.

About The Tenmile Farm Foundation:
The Tenmile Farm Foundation is a nonprofit organization that works collaboratively with emergency food programs to empower them to more effectively serve their communities. We believe that every emergency food program should have access to the food supply and operational support required to reliably and consistently feed their community with dignity. Our vision for a new funding and supply model aims to complement food rescue with access to custom growers and targeted supply, creating more efficient kitchens that feed more people better. We offer our partner organizations strategic guidance and operational support, direct food supply via our 80-acre farm in Upstate New York and access to other complementary organizations, all to help them better meet their individual missions and the unique needs of the people they serve. 

About City Harvest:
City Harvest is New York's first and largest food rescue organization, collecting perfectly good food that would otherwise go to waste to help feed the millions of New Yorkers who struggle to put meals on their tables. In over 40 years serving New Yorkers experiencing food insecurity, we have rescued more than one billion pounds of fresh, nutritious food and delivered it—free of charge—to hundreds of food pantries, soup kitchens, community partners, and our own Mobile Markets® across the five boroughs. This year, we will rescue and distribute more than 77 million pounds of nutritious food to our neighbors in need. By redirecting that food to families, we will also prevent the equivalent of more than 20 million kilograms of CO₂ from entering the atmosphere. Named one of America's Top 100 Charities by Forbes, City Harvest also works alongside our community partners to build their capacity, expand nutrition education, and advocate for systems change through effective public policy. Since our founding in 1982, City Harvest has always been there to feed our city—one day, one meal, one New Yorker at a time. To learn more, please visit cityharvest.org. 

CONTACT: Tatiana Winograd, tatiana@mileskennedy.com

SOURCE Tenmile Farm Foundation