The USDA reports that 30 percent of all food calories in the United States go to waste as food moves from the field to the dinner plate and to plate waste. Today, farmers market farmers are stepping up to the plate and helping to reduce that waste while providing food for food-insecure populations.

To make it all work, dozens of nonprofits and community organizations are taking excess food from farmers markets and channeling them to people in need in their communities. A whole new system of charity and community involvement has emerged.

To learn more about what your community can do to step up food security and how farmers and volunteers are making a difference, purchase the July/August edition of Touch the Soil magazine at a retail outlet or from the back issues online.