Our food bank won't take produce - only non-perishable groceries. That's why we distribute our produce directly to the poor (for a voluntary donation from those who can afford it).

Our Gardeners for Jesus project, here in Tyler County, TX, does receive donations of produce from gardeners that aren't affiliated with us, but they have never asked for a receipt so I guess they aren't deducting it. I know you can deduct a charitable donation of material items, though - like land or a vehicle - but I don't think you can deduct volunteer labor.

Ask a tax man.

Jack

The write off comes from the costs involved in growing the produce. This doesn't include your personal labor but would include the labor of your employees. Its not any different than going to the market with a perishable product and not being able to sell it and having to compost it.

Our food bank will take everything they can get. They have even come down to the farmers market to pick up any left=overs from the market. At one time, there was an organization that paid you to donate your produce. They paid you a reasonable labor rate for your items. Unfortunately the man that was running it fell into bad health and the organization folded.

I believe my farm donated around 1500 pounds of food between May and November last year to the food bank in Oxford, OH. They sent Mike up every week (and if could not make it than a volunteer from the market collected the food and took it to the pantry) for 6 months.

And it went very well but this has been a work in progress. When I sat on the board of this farmers market I made the suggestion that we should get together with the local food bank and start donating food. Everyone on the board thought that was a fantastic idea and someone did the research and leg work only to find that the food bank was not well run (two different orgs were running it-one was a state org and one was private and the right hand did not seem to know what the left hand was doing). The first reaction of the pantry was they could not take fresh produce because they did not have refrigeration and did not distribute on Saturdays. In other words, they immediately put up obstacles, I believe hoping we farmers with all that fresh nutritious food, would go away. We did not instead we provided coolers and ice packs to keep the produce fresh. Oh and we provided volunteers to pick up and take the food to the pantry every Saturday afternoon.

For two years we did this even though the system was broken and not working well for us. Than last year the state backed out of the food pantry and the Catholic Church took it over and got a nice grant to redo their storage and distribution facility and so they did with the farmers market produce in mind. They also used part of the grant to teach the people getting food about nutrition and how to cook using raw. whole foods

I was donating tomatoes and peppers to a local Catholic soup kitchen that was handing out produce when available.

After Saturday's market, on Sunday we would go thru everything. We'd throw away anything that wouldn't keep for a few days and take the rest into the food bank on Monday am. Since tomatoes and peppers really don't need any type of refrigeration it worked well.

At the end of my selling season, I still had several boxes of winter squash left. We sorted them and took them to the smaller town food bank before Thanksgiving and donated them. Of course, winter squash needs no special handling, except sorting.

Our local food bank will take produce, gladly! During the spring/summer/fall growing seasons here in Texas, farmers up and down our road take turns collecting and delivering to the food bank one day a week. We never thought of taking a tax deduction, but I'll mention it at our organizational meeting next week.
Three of us volunteered last year to teach cooking classes on nutrition, frugal shopping and using fresh produce. We held three classes, and may have to increase to five or six this year. Providing good produce to folks who don't know what to do with it results in waste.

I believe people need classes on what good fresh produce looks like, unlike what we see in the grocery stores and the mart stores. Like the eggplant I seen this last week. Dull with line bruises, I just wonder how old the 'stuff' was.

I have alot of people wanting to know how to preserve some of the fresh produce during the peak time of season.

I asked about this on the market farming list (which you all should subscribe to if you have not already) and got among others. this reply

Tax benefits for the donor

This will summarize the effect that tax laws have on the treatment, under the Internal Revenue Code, of donations of appreciated ordinary income property* when contributed by corporations to charitable organizations.

This report should be used only as a guide. Donors are advised to consult with a tax advisor in applying the appropriate deduction.

*A common example of ordinary income property is property held primarily by the donor for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business.

I. Allowable Deductions For Charitable Donations of Ordinary Income Property

With two exceptions (the relevant one discussed below), the general rule since 1969 states that a taxpayer who contributes appreciated inventory or certain other ordinary income property is permitted a charitable deduction only for an amount equal to the taxpayerÂs basis in the contributed property, not its fair market value.

Congress, in the 1976 Tax Reform Act (Section 2135), further refined the statute to allow corporate donors an increased deduction, under certain circumstances, for contributions of ordinary income property to a public charity or to a private operating foundation. Under I.R.C. Section 170(e)(3), a corporation is entitled to a deduction with respect to a contribution to a public charity or to a private operating foundation of appreciated property described in I.R.C. Section 1221 (1) and (2) (that is, certain types of ordinary income property) in an amount equal to:

A. The sum of one-half the unrealized appreciation (market value minus cost = appreciation) plus the taxpayerÂs cost, but

B. Not in excess of twice the cost of the contributed property. I.R.C. Section 170(e)(B).

Example

Selling Price $4.00
Cost $1.00
Gross profit equals $3.00
One half of $3.00 equals $1.50.
The maximum deduction can never exceed two times cost ($2.00). Therefore, gross profit element is limited to $1.00

Total Charitable Deductions: $2.00

Here is a link that might be useful: Food Donations Rules

Is it me or does the IRS speak a foreign language, if boulderbelt hadnt translated I wouldnt have had a clue to anything they were tryen to communicate :0) LOL
thanks boulderbelt
josh

Boulderbelt, where do I sign up for this market farming list? And does it cost money? Right now my money is going for seeds/supplies for HOPEFULLY a good season.

Is it me or does the IRS speak a foreign language, if boulderbelt hadnt translated I wouldnt have had a clue to anything they were tryen to communicate :0) LOL
thanks boulderbelt
josh

Josh, I'm with you on that one.
Even my dog is say what?

boulderbelt,

If I'm reading the example correctly. It's better to sell my produce. That's a no brainer. If I have produce left at the end of the market day, I could donate / write off $2.00 for every $1.00 spent.

Eric

No quite. You can either take the deductions you already are taking when you do the F form OR you can deduct any produce you donate at it looks like 25% of fair market value.

The deductions you already take will almost always be more than what you could get from any donations you make unless growing food only for food banks is what you do.

The market farming list is free and here is the link

Here is a link that might be useful: Market Farming List

Thanks, I look at it and probably sign up.

Marla