Story summary
On October 2, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin visited Solebury Orchards in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, to highlight the local farm-to-pantry network operated by Rolling Harvest Food Rescue. Rolling Harvest has been rescuing surplus produce from farms and distributing it to food pantries, senior centers, and community kitchens for 16 years. Zeldin's visit was part of the EPA’s national campaign called Feed It Onward, aimed at reducing food waste by redirecting edible but unsold produce from landfills to those in need.
Zeldin emphasized that the campaign does not follow a one-size-fits-all model and noted that over one-third of America's food goes uneaten, often ending up in landfills. During his visit, Zeldin met with farmers and representatives of Rolling Harvest to discuss how surplus produce can benefit local communities. Jamie McKnight, interim executive director at Rolling Harvest, chose Solebury Orchards specifically because it exemplifies the challenges small farms face due to extreme weather conditions.
The Feed It Onward campaign was launched publicly on September 5, 2025, in Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, where Frey Farms donated about 40,000 pounds of watermelon, sweet corn, and pumpkins that had been rejected by large retailers for superficial reasons.
Written for “Farm To Pantry Network Pennsylvania” on 2026-10-05,
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For 16 years, Rolling Harvest Food Rescue has collected fruits and vegetables that Bucks County farms cannot sell and delivered them to food pantries, senior centers, and community kitchens.
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farms → collect → pantries
On Oct. 2, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin visited one of its longtime partner farms, Solebury Orchards, to see how that system works.
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system → visit → farms
Zeldin came to promote Feed It Onward, the agency’s national campaign to keep edible food out of landfills.
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Zeldin → come → landfills
He met with farmers and representatives of Rolling Harvest to discuss how surplus produce can reach people in need.
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produce → meet → need
The goal, Zeldin said, is to make sure food “that would’ve otherwise been disposed of, sent to a landfill, is put to good use for children and families in need.”
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that → say → need
Jamie McKnight, Rolling Harvest’s interim executive director, said she deliberately chose Solebury Orchards for the visit.
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she → say → visit
She wanted the administrator to see how hard extreme weather can hit a small farm.
Feed It Onward launched publicly on Sept. 5, 2025, at Scott Air Force Base in southern Illinois.
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Feed → want → Illinois
Frey Farms delivered about 40,000 pounds of watermelon, sweet corn, and pumpkins that large retailers had rejected for cosmetic reasons.
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retailers → deliver → reasons
Service members and their families claimed the produce within about 30 minutes.
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members → claim → minutes
Zeldin said some of the watermelon was not the right size or shape for grocery store shelves, “but it’s otherwise completely safe and healthy to eat.”
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it → say → shelves
Since then, he said, the agency has held or participated in events in Kansas City, suburban Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando, Alabama, and elsewhere.
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agency → say → City
The Bucks County stop came during a week of visits that also included New Hampshire, Maine, South Carolina, Arizona, and New Mexico.
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that → come → Hampshire
The agency estimates that more than one-third of the nation’s food goes uneaten and that food is the largest single category of material sent to U.S. landfills. What the agency has learned from its travels, Zeldin said, is that “there isn’t one size fits all model that communities use.”
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communities → estimate → that
Rolling Harvest’s model began with one pantry and one farm.
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model → begin → pantry
Founder Cathy Snyder was working at a food pantry in 2010, McKnight said, and would stop at a farm stand for fresh produce on her way home.
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McKnight → work → way
That prompted her to ask why the people who needed it most were not getting it.
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who → prompt → it
Today, Rolling Harvest works with 52 farms and food producers and more than 80 hunger-relief sites, according to the organization.
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Harvest → work → organization
Its territory covers Bucks and Montgomery counties and, across the Delaware River, Mercer and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.
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territory → cover → Jersey
The group says it serves 40,000 people and has rescued 5.2 million pounds of produce since 2012.
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it → say → 2012
Both Zeldin and McKnight described surplus as an inherent part of farming.
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Zeldin → describe → farming
“Farmers often grow more of a crop than they believe will be needed,” Zeldin said.
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Zeldin → grow → crop
“They don’t want to be short on a crop.
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They → want → crop
They certainly don’t want to see it end up inside of a landfill.”
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it → want → landfill
McKnight put a number on it.
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McKnight → put → it
Farmers generally plant about 25% more than they expect to need, she said, to guard against bad weather and shifting markets.
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she → plant → weather
Rolling Harvest gives them somewhere to send the extra.
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Harvest → give → extra
“They call us, we come and get it,” she explained.
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she → call → it
When a field holds more lettuce or broccoli than a farm can sell, the group sends volunteers to glean it, picking the remaining produce and taking it straight to pantries, senior centers, and community kitchens.
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group → hold → pantries
McKnight said Rolling Harvest is the only gleaning organization in the Bucks County region.
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Harvest → say → region
The network reaches beyond individual farms.
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network → reach → farms
Rolling Harvest works with America’s Grow-a-Row and New Jersey Farmers Against Hunger, and in winter, it receives shipments from the FarmLink Project.
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it → work → Project
When a full truckload is headed to the area, Rolling Harvest and New Jersey Farmers Against Hunger split it.
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Harvest → head → it
In one case, McKnight said, that meant dividing 26 pallets.
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that → say → pallets
“This whole sector, the charitable food sector, is just a bunch of partnerships all working together logistically and sharing resources to make it happen,” she said.
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she → work → resources
Zeldin said the local efforts he has seen range from “close to total vacuums of local leadership to robust networks.”
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he → say → networks
He placed Bucks County among the better-organized communities but said he was struck by how young even the strongest networks are.
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networks → place → communities
“I have not yet found a community where they’ve been combating food waste for 30, 40, 50 years,” he said.
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he → find → years
McKnight, who has worked in the field for more than 15 years, agreed that food waste is an old problem.
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waste → work → years
“We’ve been speaking about it, but nobody’s listening,” she said.
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she → speak → it
Zeldin said that is where the agency comes in.
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agency → say → ?
…and 28 more, not listed.
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