What is the Fresh Produce Program?
The Fresh Produce Program (FPP), formerly known as the Volunteer Gleaning Program, has operated as the produce recovery division of the San Antonio Food Bank since 1997. The FPP annually salvages and distributes between two to three million pounds of fresh and nutritious produce throughout the SAFB’s 16-county service area. The bulk of donated fruits and vegetables come from commercial packing sheds that collect produce from farmers. Significant poundage also stems from 150 acres planted and worked by trustees within two units of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Once the produce is washed, graded and weighed, it is made available free of charge to 380 agencies served by the SAFB. How Does the Fresh Produce Program Get Free Produce? San Antonio and the Food Bank are located just east of an agricultural production area known worldwide as the Texas Wintergarden. The SAFB’s Volunteer Gleaning Program is strategically headquartered deep within the Wintergarden in a reconditioned pr
