A Growing Hunger: Food Assistance Funding
As legislative budget cuts continue to threaten food assistance programs, the Okanogan County Food Bank is taking action and getting our hands dirty with innovative agricultural initiatives designed to boost local food security and sustainability. “Harvesting Hope,” a new community garden project, in tandem with our new “Grow a Row” campaign and freshly launched “Gleaning” program, we aim to fortify Okanogan County’s self-reliance and resilience, creating a robust framework for food security as external funding dwindles.
Continue reading for additional details on our “Grow a Row” campaign, “Gleaning” program and our Zero Waste initiative.
Call our office at (509) 422-4041 to reach the Food & Nutrition department or email us at nutrition@occac.com for more info!
If you are interested in making a monetary donation to any of these programs specifically or to the Harvesting Hope Campaign in general, you can do that by clicking the DONATE button at the top right of this page or by clicking here. We have also listed items we need under each program below that you can donate. We need a LOT of supplies to keep these programs up and running and to make them all a great success! We appreciate any help you can provide!
Harvesting Hope Community Circle
Join us on the first Thursday of each month in 2026 for our online community circle meetings.Location:
Meetings will be held online. Click here to join the meeting on Zoom!
Meeting ID: 747 0453 9524Passcode: 2026
Date & Time:
Upcoming Meeting: Thursday, May 7th, 2026
Time: 11am PST
Click here to add this monthly event to your iCalendar.
Community Garden Projects
Our Harvesting Hope Community Garden initiative is growing across Okanogan County! These gardens are more than just places to grow fresh produce—they’re spaces for learning, connection, and empowerment. Each garden is built with the local community in mind, reflecting the traditions, cultures, and needs of the people who use them.
We’re partnering with schools, farms, nonprofits, and volunteers to create accessible gardens where everyone—regardless of age, ability, or background—can participate. From planting and harvesting to composting with live worms and learning about sustainable food systems, these gardens are helping our communities grow stronger, healthier, and more self-reliant.
As long as a garden serves more than one household, it’s considered a community garden. That means we can establish them anywhere in Okanogan County where people are willing to let us use their land and are committed to helping maintain it. If you have space and want to make a difference, we’d love to work with you to bring a garden to your neighborhood!
Call our office at (509) 422-4041 to reach the Food & Nutrition department or email us at nutrition@occac.com for more info!
If you’re interested in volunteering for this program, you can fill out an online application by clicking here.
Items you can donate for our Community Garden Projects:
- Orchard fencing, posts, clips, etc.
- Hoses, pipes, timers for drip irrigation, etc.
- Supply Shed
- Greenhouse
- Soil
- Raised beds for individuals with limited mobility
- Gravel, mulch, paver stones for pathways
- Garden tools (e.g. shovels, rakes, garden hoes, gloves, wheelbarrows, etc.)
- Click here if you would like to make a monetary donation. We appreciate your help!
In the news…
Listen to OCCAC’s Harvesting Hope Programs Lead, Stephanie Cook, on the radio discussing our Community Garden Projects!
Grow a Row: Plant a Little, Give a Lot
Our Grow a Row program invites individuals, families, schools, and farms across Okanogan County to grow fresh produce to help feed our community. Whether you already have a garden or are thinking about starting one, we invite you to grow a row—or more! to donate directly to the Okanogan County Food Bank and our network of nine food pantries.
Every tomato, squash, or handful of beans makes a difference. Your homegrown donation supports the 30% of county residents who rely on food assistance and helps us build a stronger, healthier, and more food-secure community.
Grow food. Share hope. Make an impact.
Call our office at (509) 422-4041 to reach the Food & Nutrition department or email us at nutrition@occac.com for more info!
If you’re interested in volunteering for this program, you can fill out an online application by clicking here.
Click here if you would like to make a monetary donation. We appreciate your help!
Gleaning Program: Harvesting What Would Be Lost
Our Gleaning Program connects volunteers with local farms and orchards across Okanogan County to harvest surplus produce that would otherwise go to waste. This fresh, local food is then distributed through the Okanogan County Food Bank and our nine pantries to help feed individuals and families facing food insecurity.
Gleaning (not to be confused with cleaning!) is the act of gathering leftover crops after a commercial harvest. It’s a win-win: farmers reduce waste, volunteers give back, and our community gains access to nutritious, farm-fresh food.
Volunteer. Harvest. Nourish your neighbors.
Call our office at (509) 422-4041 to reach the Food & Nutrition department or email us at nutrition@occac.com for more info!
If you’re interested in volunteering for this program, you can fill out an online application by clicking here.
Items you can donate for our Gleaning Program:
- Orchard ladders
- Harvesting bags
- Harness cherry buckets
- Gloves
- Boxes, crates, bins, totes to carry and transport fruits and vegetables, etc.
- Portable handwashing station
- First aid kit & training
- Fruit tree collection tarps
- Click here if you would like to make a monetary donation. We appreciate your help!
Zero Waste Initiative: Turning Food Waste into Community Growth
Our Zero-Waste Initiative is focused on reducing food waste, protecting the environment, and giving discarded food a second life. When food ends up in landfills, it breaks down without oxygen and releases harmful greenhouse gases like methane—a major contributor to climate change. We’re working to change that.
Through composting systems at our community gardens and live worm (vermicomposting) bins at select food pantries, we’re transforming food scraps into nutrient-rich compost that helps grow more local produce. For food scraps our worms can’t process, we partner with local pig farms to ensure it’s still put to good use. (If you’re a pig farmer interested in joining our partner list, please reach out!) We also collaborate with area farms and orchards to collect additional compost materials to keep our gardens and worms thriving.
By keeping food out of the landfill, we’re improving soil, supporting local farms, and reducing harmful emissions—bringing us closer to 100% food waste reduction in Okanogan County.
Don’t waste it—grow with it.
Call our office at (509) 422-4041 to reach the Food & Nutrition department or email us at nutrition@occac.com for more info!
If you’re interested in volunteering for this program, you can fill out an online application by clicking here.
Click here if you would like to make a monetary donation. We appreciate your help!
