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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.”
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| 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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