California’s Yolo County grows a wide and abundant variety of crops, but 16 percent of adults and 23 percent of children struggle with food security. California looked to the fields to solve the problem: produce left behind due to overproduction or inconsistencies in size, shape, or color that kept produce out of the marketplace. University of California, Davis spearheaded a collaborative effort to test the process of gleaning crop waste, preserving it, and then distributing it through local food banks in consumer-friendly packaging. They tested the preserved produce with food bank recipients who participated in a cooking contest. By creating recipes using the preserved foods, the local, primarily Latina, women helped increase the acceptability of shelf-stable foods during months when fresh produce is scarce.

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