Imperial Valley Food Bank

Named for an influential member of our Board of Directors, The Ed McGrew Fund is dedicated to the recovery of produce in Imperial Valley. 

Farming in general has become more corporate. Local growers, like the ones here in Imperial Valley, grow produce for larger corporations. Known as contract growing, the farmer grows produce based on a contract signed prior to preparation and planting. Based on market conditions at the time of harvest, the Contractor may not take all the produce that was grown. Since labor is the most expensive part of farming, when farm labor is in the field, and when the poundage of the contract is reached, the farmworkers will stop picking, regardless of how much food is left in the ground. 

Imperial Bounty is a program we are piloting here at the Imperial Valley Food Bank. Our goal is to pick all the additional produce on the farm and rescue it for the local community and beyond. There are costs involved with this work: the additional farm labor, boxes, transportation and cooling. The McGrew Fund was set up to help defray the costs of this “professional gleaning” program. 

To contribute to the McGrew Fund, click on the link below. We are grateful for your donations in order to feed more people with the food we already grow locally in Imperial County. 

About Ed McGrew – Ed McGrew served as a member of the IV Food Bank Board of Directors for the last decade of his life. His service included a time as President and VP and he was instrumental in helping us secure the funding for the new facility, which opened in 2019. An Imperial County native, Ed was a renowned farmer, leader, and visionary.