Society of St. Andrew opens western headquarters in Kansas City

BIG ISLAND, VA – The Society of St. Andrew (SoSA) has opened its Western Headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri. Its goal: to fight hunger by salvaging excess produce grown west of the Mississippi and getting it to those in need.

Founded in Big Island, Virginia in 1979, the Society of St. Andrew (Advance #801600) salvages wholesome, nutritious produce that is destined to be wasted, and transports it to food banks and agencies that feed people in need. SoSA works with farmers, growers and produce packing plants at two crucial points – in fields and orchards after the harvest and during the produce grading process – to salvage nutritious, edible fruits and vegetables that don’t meet the aesthetic standards of many produce vendors.

Though the Society of St. Andrew sends produce to all of the 48 contiguous states, the bulk of its work has been concentrated east of the Mississippi River. SoSA West in Kansas City is its gateway to the West.

SoSA West will tap into rich sources of excess produce from states like California, Oregon, Washington and New Mexico. From an office located at the facilities of Harvesters – The Community Food Network in Kansas City, Missouri, SoSA West will work with Harvesters to provide tens of thousands of servings of nutritious produce to deserving recipients in the Kansas City area – approximately 5 million pounds by the end of the first full year of operation. SoSA West will eventually serve the western region of the country, establishing partnerships with farmers, growers and produce packing houses, recruiting volunteers, and coordinating produce distribution in Kansas City and across the western United States.

Lisa Ousley, director of the new SoSA West Headquarters, said, “SoSA West will fulfill a dream
of the founders of the Society of St. Andrew – to expand the organization west of the Mississippi. There is so much opportunity in the West. We look forward to partnering with
Harvesters – The Community Food Network in Kansas City and growers, volunteers and donors throughout the West as we work to address the nutrition requirements of people in need.”

Mike Waldmann, Executive Director of Society of St. Andrew, said, “Although SoSA has been distributing food to the hungry in the western U.S. for many years, the SoSA West office will provide many millions of additional pounds of highly nutritious food, each year, to some of the most under-served populations among our nation’s poor.”

About Society of St. Andrew

The Society of St. Andrew is a national, faith-based, non-denominational, nonprofit organization that gleans America’s fields and feeds America’s hungry. It is an Advance Special of the United Methodist Church, #801600. By resolution adopted by the 2008 General Conference, the United Methodist Church commend the Society of St. Andrew as a partner organization with the UMC in the alleviation of hunger in the United States. The resolution further commends this partnership between local churches and the Society of St. Andrew through volunteer service and gifts through the Advance Special.

SoSA effectively tackles the problem of hunger in America through its grassroots Gleaning Network, Potato & Produce Project and Harvest of Hope programs. SoSA is one of the nation's largest nonprofit suppliers of fresh produce to those in need.

To date, over 552 million pounds of fresh produce have been saved from going to waste by the Society of St. Andrew, providing more than 1.66 billion servings of nutritious food to those in need. More than 360,000 volunteers have helped SoSA save this food, which otherwise would have been dumped in landfills or plowed under. And all of it was saved and distributed at a cost of only about 2 cents a serving!

An independent audit has established the Society of St. Andrew's overhead for administration and fundraising at 9.6%, which is among the lowest of all nonprofit organizations. This means that more than 90¢ of every dollar donated to the Society of St. Andrew goes directly to feeding hungry people.

For more information about the Society of St. Andrew contact their national headquarters at sosausa@endhunger.org or online at www.endhunger.org.