In this week’s edition of The Goodness Report, we’re shining a spotlight on our client Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County and their farm, Harvest Solutions, where our team had the pleasure of volunteering as Champions of All Things Good this August.
The Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County established the Harvest Solutions Farm down the road from their food bank operations in 2021 as a collaboration between Second Harvest, University of California South Coast Research & Extension Center (SCREC), and Solutions for Urban Agriculture. Located on 40 acres of SCREC’s agricultural research center in Irvine, the farm acts as a solution to providing fresh, healthy produce for those in need in Orange County through urban agriculture. The farm often delivers between 50,000 to 60,000 pounds of produce per week to the Orange County Community through their local food bank network.
Volunteering On The Farm
Volunteers at the farm can assist in the process of planting, harvesting, weeding, and maintaining the current growing operations. On this particular cloudy August morning, Idea Hall joined with volunteers from both Caz Training Club, a local business who donates portions of their revenue to many different charitable causes, and National Charity League, a national philanthropic organization with an emphasis on mothers and daughters working together to serve their communities.
Under the guidance of the farm coordinator, Hannah, everyone received an informative overview and safety briefing before beginning to harvest the farm’s ripe zucchini and yellow squash. In pairs of two, each group selected a row and harvested all of the viable squash while leaving the rest to continue growing for the next harvest. By the end of the session, Idea Hall and the other volunteers had harvested 1,700 pounds of produce that were set to be distributed directly to those experiencing food and nutrition insecurity through the Second Harvest Food Bank and their partners. Volunteers then finished their day with weeding the growing spaghetti squash plants which will be harvested in the coming fall months. It was wonderful to spend the day together as a team, embodying our mission to serve as Champions of All Things Good.
“It was such a rewarding experience to support Second Harvest’s mission in real-time by being in the field and harvesting produce. The morale was so high and it was apparent that everyone was having fun.” – Holly Jenvey, Account Coordinator, Idea Hall
One of our primary values as a company is to make a difference, and we encourage our team to use their skills, talents and time to impact the communities in which they live and work. The mission to pursue purpose-driven work at Idea Hall carries on outside the office, whether through individual volunteer efforts or team activities such as our outing at the Harvest Solutions Farm.
Goodness Throughout Orange County
Since 2017, Idea Hall employees have completed over 2,924 hours of skills-based or pro-bono work, and the company as a whole has donated $236,000 dollars in grants and in-kind goods throughout Orange County.
“We love to work with nonprofits and for-profits, foundations and government agencies to do purpose-driven work.” – Rebecca Hall, President and CEO
As Champions of All Things Good, the Idea Hall team engages in acts of service to the community year-round, whether through client-related work or through community focused volunteering opportunities. The Idea Hall commitment to philanthropy in the Orange County community has earned our company recognition as one of the “Civic 50” for 5 years running. Idea Hall has also been named as one of “Companies that Care” honorees, which serves as a list of the country’s most civic-minded organizations as established by the Orange County Business Journal.
Interested in how Idea Hall can help your brand stand out and share its mission? Schedule a call today!
