Gleaning Programs Help Feed Hungry Neighbors

Even small gardens can produce more food than one family can use. With the right networks in place, the extra food can be shared with hungry neighbors.

The U.S. is a country of staggering abundance. This is especially true with respect to food production. Yet in every community there are people who don't know how or where they will get their next meal.

The root of this problem runs deep, and real solutions require some fundamental shifts in our nation's social and economic priorities. But when millions are going hungry, the priority is to provide easy access to free or low-cost food.

Here in the United States, the challenge is one of distribution, not supply. It has been estimated that more than 96 billion pounds of edible "surplus" food is thrown away every year. That's almost 27 percent of our nation's annual food supply.

In most every community, there are committed individuals, community groups and businesses who are finding ways to rescue and distribute some of this surplus food through food shelves, soup kitchens, hot-meal delivery programs, and the like.

How might a gardener bring his or her experience to bear on this problem? One opportunity to lend a hand is a food rescue initiative called "gleaning." Gleaning a field or orchard means going in after the harvest and gathering what's been left behind by mechanical harvesting equipment or a fickle marketplace.

The most challenging part about gleaning is figuring out how to connect the farmers, gleaners and distribution locations. Most farmers are more than happy to see the remains of their labor go to good use. But in many cases there is a very small window of time between the end of the primary harvest and the planting of the next crop. Gleaners need to be ready to respond on short notice, and the food, which is usually quite perishable, needs to get distributed quickly.

The following six gleaning initiatives provide a glimpse into the impact some of these programs are having across the country.

In Burlington, Vt., the Healthy City Gleaning Project gleans about 30,000 lbs of food each year from a 400-member CSA farm and 10 other small organic farms in the Intervale. Volunteer gleaners from the community and kids from the Healthy City Youth Farm, work side by side to glean extra produce from harvested fields and distribute it to local social service agencies.
New Jersey Farmers Against Hunger is actively involved in supporting a number of gleaning efforts throughout their state. More than 50 farms are participating and in 2004 almost 1.5 million pounds of fresh produce was collected and distributed to 6000 people in need. The organization’s network of volunteer gleaners come from a wide range of school, business and religious groups.
Oregon has been a leader in gleaning initiatives. There are now more than 25 organizations funneling gleaned food into the Oregon Food Bank.
In Watcom County, Washington, the Small Potatoes Gleaning Project gleaned almost 42 tons of produce in 2006. In addition to their gleaning work, they have recently established a Foodbank Farm in Bellingham to provide an additional source of fresh produce for those in need.
One of our 2007 Garden Crusader Award winners was Barbara Eiswerth of Tucson, Az. Barbara founded a gleaning project called the Iskash*taa Refugee Harvesting Network, which involves community members, and especially refugee families, in harvesting unwanted fruits and vegetables. Barbara used her expertise in GIS mapping to map the food resources in her community, including 300 fruit trees in 162 backyards.
From their headquarters in Virginia, the Society of St. Andrew coordinates volunteers, growers, and distribution agencies to provide food for hungry people through gleaning. Each year more than 30,000 volunteers participate in these gleaning events. During 2006, a total of 9,665,412 lbs of food was salvaged and taken to local food distribution centers.