A great idea - gleaning fields

abasket
Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:56:12 +0000

In our area here in the midwest unemployment rates are high, and more and more people are having difficulty putting food on the table. I received an email at work re: what I think is a wonderful idea - wonderfully sharing, wonderfully healthy, wonderfully ecological.

As our farmer’s fields, apple orchards, etc. wrap up, a local effort is underway to “glean” our fields. In essence, this means:
A lot of perfectly good food is left to rot in farm fields and under fruit and nut trees
Volunteer to “glean” leftover farms donating fruits and vegetables, providing fresh, nutritious food to your community.
Requirements: able to walk, bend and pick – plus enjoy fresh air

Last week, volunteers were able to glean over 10,450 lbs of fresh produce. The variety of fresh vegetables was able to reach 25 feeding sites and kitchens in our region.

Amazing!

They sent out another list for the next week or so - local fields and orchards where farmers have given permission for volunteers to come “glean” - I am going to show this to my senior son who needs some NHS volunteer hours - I think this would be a wonderful thing to be part of!

Have you heard of anything like this in your area???