Maine Harvest for Hunger

The following is an adapted excerpt from Five Steps to Food Safe Fruit and Vegetable Gardening

• Use clean, food-grade containers. Food-grade containers are made from materials designed specifically to safely hold food. Garbage bags, trash cans, and any containers that originally held chemicals such as household cleaners or pesticides are not food-grade.
• Use clean gloves (that haven’t been used to stir compost or pull weeds) or clean hands when picking produce.
• Brush, shake or rub off any excess garden soil or debris before bringing produce into the kitchen.
• If you choose to wash fruits and vegetables before donating, be sure to dry them thoroughly with a clean paper towel. NEVER wash berries before donating.
• If you choose to donate without washing, shake, rub or brush off any garden dirt with a paper towel or soft brush while still outside. Donate unwashed produce in clean plastic bags or containers.
• Keep fruit and vegetable bins clean.
• When washing produce fresh from the warm outdoors, the rinse water should not be more than 10 degrees colder than the produce.

If you aren’t immediately delivering the produce . . .

• Fruits and vegetables needing refrigeration can be stored at 40° F or less.
• Fruits and vegetables stored at room temperature (onions, potatoes, tomatoes) should be in a cool, dry, pest-free, well-ventilated area separate from household chemicals.