Salvation Farms' Founder to Serve on National Association of Gleaning Organizations Board

Theresa Snow, Executive Director at Salvation Farms was selected to serve as a founding board member to the national Association of Gleaning Organizations.

The Association has been eighteen months in the making under the direction of its founding member, Shawn Peterson of Salt Lake City, Utah. Under his direction, gleaning organizations from across America have been coming together to vet the concept of creating the Association. Snow was involved in many of these conversations and is now stepping in to serve as the Association’s first board Treasure.

Keith Cutshall, Gleaning Director at CROS Ministries of Lake Worth, Florida served on the Association’s board selection committee and had this to share, “one of the things that stands out in my memory of the 2019 Seattle Gleaning Symposium was the presentation that Theresa gave. Her insight into the role food recovery could play in our communities and the depth of her understanding of leading an organization to do that were impressive. I was very excited when she expressed a willingness to serve on the founding board of the Association. I am confident that her leadership will enable the board to become what we envision it to be and more.”

The Association of Gleaning Organizations aims to build the capacity of organizations recovering fresh fruits and vegetables from farms, gardens, and backyards across North America. By engaging communities to harvest surplus produce, vulnerable populations are provided with increased access to wholesome foods.Snow is joined by three other leaders in gleaning to form the Associations founding board of directors. The other members hail from Rhode Island, Kentucky, and Georgia.

These founding board members will perform responsibilities that further form the Association including fiscal oversight, fundraising, strategic planning, drafting of bylaws, and incorporation.

Snow embraced the opportunity to share her expertise, not only helping develop a new national organization but to support and inspire gleaners across the country and continent. Additionally, Snow says, “the timing couldn’t be better. Salvation Farms, the organization I founded and direct, is hosting the 4^th International Gleaning Symposium this spring in Burlington, VT, a venue that will formally launch the Association. I am quite excited about supporting the creation of an association of such significance and purpose.”

Snow founded Salvation Farms more than fifteen years ago, has advised and collaborated with nearly all Vermont based gleaning efforts, established the Vermont Gleaning Collective, and has provided technical assistance to gleaners across the nation. In 2018, she received the Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility’s Young Changemaker Award.

To learn more about Snow or Salvation Farms, visit www.salvationfarms.org.