DAYTON, Ohio — Small-scale farmer Joe Vorndran has one particular hobby he dearly loves – growing vegetables. Tending to his small crops on a daily basis is important for Vorndran, now 55.

He spends 10-12 hours each day in his one-acre plot on Clyo Road near Dayton, making sure the soil moisture content is perfect, the sunlight is just right and that predators are kept at bay. “My garden got started because I like to eat and I wanted something to do,” Vorndran said, referring to his garden named Model Acres. “I started with green beans, added tomato plants, then here came the eggplant … it all just snowballed.”

Growing and seeing what he puts on his plate is important to this healthy man, and everything from bok choy to simple green beans – roughly 75 different vegetables – are grown here. He has so many vegetables that he wanted in some way to share his bounty with others. That’s when he approached the Dayton-area Foodbank and offered most of his crop.

“Those who drench their fields and crops with all sorts of chemicals have no idea what they’re really doing to their health,” he said. “I use no chemicals whatsoever. It’s important for me to eat healthy, and I want to share this food with others.”

Those at The Foodbank of Dayton welcomed his produce with opened arms.

“We here at the Foodbank are in a strategic territory, in that we’re among an agriculture area where we can work with some farmers,” said Lee Lauren Truesdale, Development and Grants manager for The Foodbank. “Right now we’re consistently working with two farmers on this effort, and hopefully more down the road.”

The two contributors are Model Acres and Hungry Toad Farms. These two small farms are located just a mile apart from one other. The food reaches the needy in Preble, Montgomery and Greene counties. “This is a relatively new program,” Truesdale said. “It was discovered that there is a lot of food out there that is going unused. Oftentimes farmers can’t sell certain vegetables, so they till them into the soil.

“When farmers have too many of a certain crop or crops that are not top quality, we hope they’re willing to supply us with some of these goodies. Sometimes we purchase items from them, and other times we glean from their fields when they have too many of one crop. Recently we obtained an abundance of eggplant.”

Vorndran scoffs at the idea his “leftover crop” would be tilled or disposed of. Produce from his farm compares to some of the best-looking at any grocery store. He says his is neither too small for market nor does it have blemishes.

“What they get from my one-acre farm is top-notch vegetables. In places like Maine and Vermont, they’ve done it for many years,” he said. “We should have been doing this in Ohio a long time ago.”

The Foodbank in the Dayton area began its affiliation with the two farms just a year ago. “We’re part of Feeding America and that organization pushes its ‘Foods to Encourage’ campaign, which encourages people to eat locally grown produce,” Truesdale explained. “With this effort, farmers and even home gardeners come to mind.”

The food is shipped to 80 member agency nonprofit organizations (food pantries, community kitchens) which in turn distribute the food to the hungry.

“We’ve received one million pounds of produce this year,” Truesdale said. “Daily, we serve roughly 16,000 meals each day.”