HISTORY
OUR START
Pumpkins For Pigs was born from a simple conversation with a local farmer while buying eggs. “Bring your pumpkins by the next time you visit. My animals would love them. It’s a treat.” Since that 2017 chat, the number of donation sites accepting foodstuffs has grown to 600 across the US and Canada.
Every year, Jennifer still collects pumpkins in her Subaru
from her and surrounding neighborhoods. Photo: PFP Foundation.
OUR HISTORY
With one conversation with her local farmer, Pumpkins For Pigs founder Jennifer Seifert found ten farms and animal sanctuaries willing to help her test her idea: invite the public to drop off their pumpkins and other Fall décor to farms nearby. With flyers in businesses all over town and a website built overnight, the response was definitive: the community was willing to go a few miles from home to donate viable foodstuffs for animal feed. The 2018 response proved this was no fluke: more farms and animal sanctuaries joined and asked for leftover holiday trees and wreaths for their goats. The community responded with more donations. With each passing donation season – November 1 through January 31 – additional items were added to the wanted list. From excess backyard garden produce to kiddie pools for ducks, communities responded to the call.
In 2021, a farmer posted about Pumpkins For Pigs in a homesteaders’ forum. By the next morning, 70 farms from across the country registered to receive foodstuffs from their communities. Today, Pumpkins For Pigs operates in 44 states and Canada. There is much more to do!
PUMPKINS FOR PIGS TODAY
Pumpkins For Pigs is committed to learning more about food reclamation and composting to reduce food waste, landfill growth, and carbon dioxide and educating communities on how they can take action, every day. As a result, we continue to expand our programs and advocate for the infrastructure needed to support these changes.
Our programs include:
- Fall and Winter Donations
- Excess Backyard Garden Donations
- Food Pantry Reclamation
Learn more about our programs by visiting our FAQs.
Mailing Address
P. O. Box 1096
Leesburg, VA 20177-1096