When Marin’s gardeners grow more food than they can eat, the Van Hooser siblings are on the case.
The Tiburon residents harvest surplus produce from gardens around the county and deliver it to the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank center in San Rafael, which feeds thousands of Marin families in need each year.
“Despite Marin being a very wealthy county, hunger is a problem,” said Jack Van Hooser, 17. “The food bank does a great job of distributing food, but when I realized that they were missing this whole market of homegrown produce, I just kind of knew I had to help.”
In the three years since Jack and his siblings, Scott, 15, and Kate, 13, started the initiative, it has become increasingly popular among Southern Marin residents. Many hear about the volunteer service, which the Van Hoosers call Share the Bounty, through the social media site NextDoor.
The siblings got the idea for the service while on a stroll through their neighborhood. Their grandmother pointed out ripe fruit that had fallen from trees and suggested the kids do something to save it from going to waste. Her idea was a hit, and the kids got to work.
“When you have this much fruit, you’ve got to share it,” said Thomas Soltesz, standing in his backyard garden in Mill Valley on Friday while the three siblings took turns plucking apples from a tree.
The Van Hoosers filled a crate with fruit from Soltesz’s yard, loaded it into the trunk of their family car and drove it to the food bank.
“I hate to waste any food,” Soltesz said. “I’d rather give it to people who need it. And if these kids are willing to pick it, then all the better.”
In total, Share the Bounty has donated more than 4,600 pounds of food from Marin gardens.
The food bank serves 17,000 people each year in Marin, distributing roughly 6 million pounds of food in the county at 50 distribution sites. According to 2016 Census data, 46,684 people in Marin, or about 18 percent of the population, earn less than 200% of the federal poverty level.
“It helps,” said Ryan Russo, operations manager for the food bank. “Every little bit helps.”
More information about Share the Bounty is online at sharethebountymarin.org.
