This program has rescued more than 30 million pounds of fresh produce. It helps people near and far

The Plentiful Harvest Food Rescue Program program in Windsor has saved more than 30 million pounds of produce since its inception in 2010.

Ali Bazzi is the food rescue program manager for UHC- Hub of Opportunities, formerly known as the Unemployed Help Centre. Hetook the CBC's Mike Evans along for the ride in the Plentiful Harvest truck to pick up about 25 pallets of fresh, perfectly good peppers from a local greenhouse.

The produce otherwise might have gone to waste.

"We started small in 2010, you know we were picking up. I remember myself picking upproduce with a little van," Bazzi said. "That relationship started building up. We weren't scared to stop anywhere, to talk about our program because we're very proud of what we do and what we do is helping others.

"When a farmer or a greenhouse owner listens to our story, they will pitch in and we are rescuing a product that really is going to a landfill and we're saving this product now."

But that's not all. The group also has a partnership with the Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto. In exchange for the plentiful produce collected in Leamington, the Toronto food bank shares some of their many dry good items that local food banks sometimes lack.

"That makes the program complete," Bazzi said, noting they make sure local food banks have enough first, before swapping.

Andrew Manson, the senior manager of corporate partnerships at Daily Bread Foodbank,is in Windsor each Wednesday to bring dry goods like packages of cereal, shelf-stable milks and other items not in local surplus and swap for fresh vegetables.

When CBC was visiting, Daily Bread was picking up cucumbers, peppers and of course, from Leamington fresh tomatoes.

The program helps ensure that some of Windsor-Essex's most vulnerable have access to fresh and healthy food:Building Blocks for Better Babies, a prenatal nutrition program, uses supplies from the food rescue program to build bags for pregnant people.

"We know that the fresh vegetables and fruit are the things that they're lacking in their diets. said Ellen Bachtold, a registered dietitian with Building Blocks for Better Babies.

Bachtold said it was a particularly good week for the program because there is fresh lettuce available, a grocery item for which costs have skyrocketed.

"This makes such a huge difference. If we can alleviate some of that by providing them with some of these fresh vegetables and fruit each week, then they can use their food dollar in other places."