Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Leave No Crop Behind - Gleaning

by Carol Kagan, Master Gardener

They may not be beautiful but they are edible and nutritious.
At the Grove Family Library I saw a flyer for The Gleaning Project of South Central Pennsylvania and this was new to me.
 

What is Gleaning?

Gleaning is collecting excess, unsalable but edible food from gardeners, farmers, distributors and producers and distributing it to food banks, shelters, local agencies and individuals who would not typically have access to fresh food. Why is it unsalable? It most likely is slightly damaged or otherwise imperfect although still edible and nutritious.
Harvesting (gleaning) beans (Annalee Newitz)
While this is typically collecting after-harvest leftover crops from farmers' fields or from fields where it is not profitable to harvest, gleaning can also include collecting food from restaurants, grocery stores and even catering operations.
School group gleaning (Courtesy Laughing Dog Farm)
Daniel Botkin, the Farm Manager of Laughing Dog Farm in Gill, Massachusetts, noted online, “Personally, I like to think of gleaning as a form of 'targeted recycling'.”

Does Gleaning Make A Difference?

If gleaning is done on leftover crops and food, how much can it be?
The Gleaning Project notes on its Website that since June 2013 they have salvaged over 100,000 pounds of food. This is with the help of 95 volunteers (482 hrs.) and 33 growers, producers and distributors in Adams County. This food was distributed to approximately 5,187 unduplicated individuals at or below ... Federal poverty level with the help of 40 community-needs assistance agencies and organizations.
Since January 1, 2014, The Society of St. Andrew reports 8.4 million pounds gleaned and 36.3 million food servings delivered.
 
Highlights from the 2013 Boston Area Gleaners annual report show over 88,000 pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables gleaned with over 354,000 4-oz food servings delivered.
Franklin County has over 1,500 acres of vegetables and 200,000 acres of cropland. Penn State Extension estimates that 50% of food is lost between field and fork.

How Does This Work?

Here’s how the Gleaning Project explains it:
“Want to be part of a food justice flash mob? Not to sound corny (pardon the pun), but that's exactly what The Gleaning Project does! When farmers have excess, unsalable but edible food in the fields, we gather volunteers and head out. All the food goes to local needs assistance agencies, like food pantries and shelters.”
To volunteer, go to the Gleaning Project Website Volunteer page.
Since harvesting needs to be done within 1 or 2 days of notification, gathering volunteers has been made significantly easier with e-mail blasts, Facebook notifications and even Twitter.
The Gleaners. Jean-François Millet. 1857

Another Thought on Gleaning

Botkin also shares a bit of philosophy on his Website: “Gleaning precious foodstuff is an ancient, ubiquitous practice. But we must also transpose its brilliant logic to other commodities routinely wasted, like energy, clothes, lumber, bricks, books …”
 

For more information check these links

Penn State Extension: Sustainable Food Recovery Programs – Information on establishing and maintaining partnerships in food recovery (gleaning) and distribution chains

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