
T2T Receives Donation of 10,000 Cantaloupes!
A truckload of 10,000 cantaloupe made its way to T2T on the morning of July 18th through our food transportation industry rescue initiative!
This estimated 30,000 lbs. of melons is headed to T2T through a partnership with Farmlink, an organization that connects farm products to communities facing food insecurity and who was also responsible for last year’s epic 40,000 lb. potato recovery. The logistics of moving this quantity of food was be made possible through partnership Lineage Logistics, Farr Transport, and the tireless work of the T2T volunteer network and staff members.
Today, cantaloupes were distributed by the pallet to North Liberty Food Pantry, Coralville Community Food Pantry, CommUnity Food Bank in Iowa City, Open Heartland, and North Liberty Summer Lunch & Fun. On Monday, we’ll distribute to many more neighborhood pantries in our area and share several pallets with Riverbend Regional Food Bank to deliver to folks across Eastern Iowa.
Table to Table food recovery efforts provide the majority of fresh produce in the Johnson County food access network. We’ve worked for the last three years to grow food transportation recovery relationships. This food rescue opportunity comes at a time when food insecurity is on the rise and the recent federal budget reconciliation bill makes deep cuts to the food safety net. As we continue to respond to impacts of these cuts, donations like this will be more important than ever.
Stay tuned for details on a cantaloupe distribution pop-up stand early next week! Like our work? Make a donation or sign up to volunteer!
Statement In Response to Food Access Cuts in Budget Reconciliation
Five Johnson County food access organizations are issuing the following statement in response to the recent passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” budget reconciliation bill.

Gear Up for Gleaning Season!
What exactly does gleaning mean – no not cleaning…gleaning! If you’re unfamiliar with this weird word, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Gleaning is an age-old practice that helps provide fresh local foods to the community, so let’s dive in!
“The term gleaning is used in the agriculture industry to describe the collection of crops left in the field after all other available food has been harvested” (PostHarvest). The practice dates back centuries but is still largely relevant in modern day farming. At Table to Table, we implement gleaning into our food rescue system to provide fresh local foods for Johnson County’s food access network. Local farmers and individuals with large personal gardens reach out to us when they’ve reached their capacity for harvesting and still have good crops left in the fields. This can happen for many reasons – sometimes there is not enough people-power to harvest everything, farmers may have over-planted in case of blight, drought, or pest problems, or they may have planted cover crops to protect against erosion with no intention of harvesting them in the first place! Whatever the reason may be for excess crop, gleaning is a great way to ensure the resources used in producing the food are not wasted while getting fresh food on local tables at the same time (PostHarvest).
Want to get involved?
- Volunteer with Table to Table (T2T)!
- We’re gearing up for prime gleaning season and could use all the help we can get! Contact volunteer@table2table.org for more information on becoming a gleaning volunteer. Gleans usually take place in the morning and last around two hours. It’s a great way to get outdoors, learn more about local foods, and get your hands dirty!
- Grow a row!
- Are you an avid gardener? Got a green thumb? Just like to plant things? Plant an extra row of produce of your choosing in your personal garden or community plot to donate, and when it’s ready for harvest, bring your produce to T2T or other food access organizations in the community! For more information on this, contact gleaning@table2table.org.
- Donate produce to Table to Table!
- Are you a local grower with extra produce in your fields or garden? Connect with T2T to discuss potential gleaning opportunities! We’ll send a crew of volunteers to harvest your extra produce and deliver to food insecure neighbors. Contact gleaning@table2table.org for more information.
Just in Time, One Box at a Time
How our food rescue model sets the tone for an exceptional food access network, one of the best in the state.
Every day at Table to Table, we adapt to the unpredictability of food rescue. We’ve built a system that’s flexible enough to meet the unique needs of our neighbors. At the heart of that system is something surprisingly simple: the humble banana box—absolutely central to our mission.
Most of the food recovery work in the US is done in two models: a model relying on huge trucks and paid staff to pick up pre-packed pallets and deliver them to a warehouse for distribution days later or a model where pantries send their own staff or volunteers to the store to collect whatever food is available that day.
Table to Table is one of the few organizations across the country that uses a route based model, and the banana box is a key part of that process. Volunteers go into a food donor store and collect the donations directly from staff. They cart it out, pack it by type into 20 or more banana boxes, and deliver it directly to food access partner, like a food pantry.
With this model we prioritize dignity, supporting our belief that both people and food have inherent value. At a partner meeting just this week, folks reported that most of the food we deliver in a day is gone within 3 hours, so we know our neighbors get food to their tables as fresh as possible. When we pack food by hand, inspecting items for quality, we’re not just moving food—we’re ensuring it’s good food, worthy of the people we serve.
And our model supports equity, too. Food recovery is unpredictable. Some days a store might only have a few boxes of bread. Other days, there might be hundreds of pounds of strawberries. In a one-store-to-one-pantry model, that can be a challenge. What if a pantry doesn’t have enough patrons for all those strawberries? What if the store has nothing that day? Our volunteers visit multiple stores, and split the food into smaller manageable boxes by food type. This allows us to redistribute resources more fairly and address needs of different communities. We can make sure those strawberries are delivered to both a Head Start program and a pantry. We can also pick up and combine several small donations to create a meaningful delivery.
The banana box allows us to respond in real time, to build equity into the system with every stop.
Our volunteers aren’t just box packers. They’re relationship builders. They know the names of dairy managers and produce clerks. They handle each item that goes into a box. They check in when donations are low and thank donors in person. That daily presence makes a difference—this is why stores in Johnson County donate more food collectively than those in comparable communities.
When a volunteer delivers boxes to a partner, they’re not just unloading and leaving. They’re asking, “What do you need today?” They’re listening and noticing change. Then they’re reporting back, so we can adjust. This kind of real-time collaboration simply isn’t possible in a top-down distribution system. But when you’re handing a box of food directly to a recipient partner? You build trust. You stay connected.
Last year, volunteers distributed 2.7 million pounds of food. They packed more than 1,000 boxes a week, 52,000 boxes in a year. Volunteers are the reason we can respond quickly and distribute quality food equitably. You can join us. Whether by volunteering, donating, advocating, or simply sharing our story, you are a part of this network.
None of this would be possible without our community. We’re holding steady, because we’ve built a model rooted in adaptability and powered by people. But we also know that the road ahead won’t be easy. State and federal policies are shifting. Food insecurity is becoming more complex. And yet—we’re still here.
So, when folks ask me how we are going to meet this moment? My answer is: We will do it together and we will do it one banana box at a time.
In hope & solidarity, Nicki Ross -Executive Director
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