Farm to Community Program

HLFM purchases fresh food from small farmers to deliver to local pantries each week.

Farm to Community Graph that presents the different steps and reasons for this program

Purchasing from Small Farms

Photo of Enoch Farms farmer with goats in her field
Enoch Farms

The HLFM purchases fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, and eggs from 19 small family farms, giving farmers a reliable income stream from April through December.

Filling Local Food Pantries

Volunteer from Harvest Ministries packing up fresh vegetables to be distributed
Harvest Ministries

This supplies 18 food pantries with the nutritious fresh foods that most never receive, and many pantry clients cannot otherwise afford.

Bringing Community Together

Jerry Brainard and-Lewis Dawley JR greeting each other at Salvation Army in Seaford, DE
Salvation Army Seaford

The HLFM coordinates weekly deliveries between our farmers and pantry partners along four routes across Sussex and Kent Counties in Delaware.

Feeding Hungry Families

A volunteer at Nanticoke Senior Center serving hot food
Nanticoke Senior Center

FTC pantries feed over 6,000 individuals in need weekly with these locally grown, farm fresh products.

HLFM provides

Fruits & Veggies

Dittmar Family Farms holdng up fresh beets and radishes for the community
Dittmar Family Farms

Fresh produce is dropped off by nearby farms to pantries weekly.

Eggs & Dairy

Distributing milk at Shepherd's Office
Shepherd’s Office

Essentials like eggs and milk are delivered monthly.

Meats

Man in uniform holding up a Turkey ready to be donated at the Salvation Army in Dover.
Salvation Army Dover

Farmers deliver chicken, beef, pork, and Thanksgiving turkeys to pantries.

$0

of fresh, local food has been purchased by the HLFM from farmers for pantries in the three years of Farm to Community so far.

Support this Program

This program, starting in April 2023, was originally funded through the Delaware Department of Agriculture’s Local Food Purchase Assistance Program, until federal funding for all programs like this nationally were terminated in early 2025. The State of Delaware, through the Farm and Food Policy Council, is funding this program for an additional year, September 2025 through August 2026.