There are very few places in this country that have the rich farming legacy that Chester County has. Take a drive through the countryside and you will see small farms dotted amongst the rolling hills with rich fertile fields producing a bountiful harvest of fruits and vegetables. These farms showcase the beauty of the Pennsylvania landscape and are an important part of the fabric that makes up the community that resides here. These same farms have been integral in not only providing food for sale to community members but also for providing food for the less fortunate by donating to local food shelters.

Preserving this valuable land for future generations has long been a challenge. Willistown Conservation Trust (WCT) is a land conservation organization who has fought to protect the rich agricultural lands of Chester County from development. In 2008 WCT decided to expand its land protection mission by establishing the Willistown Conservation Trust Community Farm Program. The center of this program is Rushton Farm which is part of the 80 acre Rushton Preserve located 20 miles outside of Philadelphia in the heart of Willistown. From its inception Rushton Farm has been intended to be used as a model for demonstrating how sustainable agriculture can work in concert with surrounding natural resources, how it can promote community involvement and how it can provide food to those in need.

One of the key components of Rushton Farm and the WCT Community Farm Program is the Share the Bounty Program. The Share the Bounty Program was established to demonstrate how small farms can make a significant difference by donating a portion of their harvest to local food shelters. Starting with the first growing season in 2008 it was decided that Rushton Farm would donate at least 10% of all food harvested to those in need. The farm does this in three different ways; donating extra produce, growing specifically for donation and gleaning.

Gleaning is the act of collecting leftover crops from farmers' fields after they have been harvested. Through the course of a season the produce left in the field can be a generous amount. Several times a year Rushton Farm invites volunteers to come to the farm and help gather leftover crops. On these harvest days volunteers gather, ready to pull from the vines and from the soil nutritious food that would otherwise be left to compost. The work only lasts a couple of hours but the reward is great. There is nothing quite as gratifying as picking nutritious food alongside friends and family knowing that it will go to those who truly need it.

After the food is harvested it is taken to the wash area to be cleaned sorted and packed for donation. Volunteers gather the food and take it to the West Chester Food Cupboard or the Chester County Food Bank where it is weighed and stored to be distributed to community members.

The success of the gleaning program has lead to the creation of a garden solely dedicated to providing food for the Chester County Food Bank. In 2012 Henry's Garden was established in memory of Henry Jordan whose commitment to addressing issues of poverty and access to nutritious food brought him to the Advisory Board of the Chester County Food Bank.

Henry's Garden is designed to be a smaller version of Rushton Farm where community members, school groups and volunteers can come out and learn how even a backyard garden can supply hundreds of pounds of fresh, chemical-free, local produce- yielding both nutritional and educational benefits to the community. All food is grown and harvested by volunteers

In the seven years since Rushton Farm was established over 10,000 lbs of food has been donated to area food shelters through the Share the Bounty Program. Hundreds of volunteers have helped to make this possible and each year more volunteers become involved. It is a great way to learn about land protection, sustainable agriculture and the value of food donation.

-Fred