Saoirse Pastures is an animal sanctuary in Ithaca that rescues and rehabilitates abandoned, injured or unwanted farm animals.
“I always look forward to my weekend at Saoirse Pastures,” Deanna Nassar, volunteer at Saoirse Pastures said. “This is a true place for health for all creatures, humans too.”
From physical laborers and animal snugglers to produce donations, the nonprofit organization relies on volunteers like Nassar to sustainably support their work.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 30-40% of the U.S. food supply is wasted annually. This waste ends up in landfills that emit harmful substances like leachate and methane, destroying habitats and valuable resources.
With more than 15 food pantries and donation centers, Tompkins County has a robust food donation and reallocation system connecting surplus or past-prime goods with food pantries in and around the county.
An important part of this process is the donation of imperfect and surplus food, given to farms and sanctuaries to feed animals while minimizing waste.
Feeding animals instead of landfills
Saoirse Pastures was created in 2017 to address the lack of oversight of farm animals, whose welfare is in the care of the Department of Agriculture and Markets. The sanctuary works with multiple organizations and businesses to incorporate
sustainable practices into their work.
Co-founder and executive director of Saoirse Pastures, Shannon Hamilton, says environmental consciousness is at the forefront of the sanctuary’s work.
“We’re an animal welfare organization, but it goes above and beyond that too,” Hamilton said. “It’s about sustainability and caring for our planet and food justice, it’s all circular.”
Saoirse Pastures receives non-divisible produce from GreenStar Food Co+op, Wegmans and Friendship Donations Network.
The sanctuary takes “anything like salad, lettuce, and all the things that come in that they might have to peel the outside layers off,” Hamilton said. “[Friendship Donation Network] has called us in the past where they have an overabundance, and are afraid things are going to start going bad.”
Hamiltons said the pastures “general overview is negating and educating on the oppression of all living species,” including the protection of the environment and ecosystems they inhabit.
Non-divisible food waste
Non-divisible and imperfect food includes parts of produce that is not consumed by humans, such as corn husks and strawberry tops; anything and produce that needs its outer layers shed but is otherwise edible.
GreenStar Food Co+op is a community owned cooperative with three locations in Ithaca. The sustainability focused grocery store works with 214 local farms and markets in a 100 mile radius, according to assistant manager Nathaniel Goulart.
One of the ways the store reduces their food waste is through weekly donations of imperfect produce to Saoirse Pastures, which “fits in with our focus on supporting local farms and our focus on sustainability and reducing what goes to the landfill from the co-op,” Goulart said.
“It kind of makes the circle of life happen and represents what we think our community’s values are,” he added.
For more information about Saoirse Pastures log on here. For more information about Greenstar Food Co+op log on here.
