Sharing the Harvest Supports Sustainable Food

In recent years efforts to share the harvest of fresh, sustainable foods with those who are otherwise unable to afford them have really taken off. All over the country, in cities and rural areas alike, communities are banding together to find ways to get fresh fruits and vegetables to neighbors in need. While such initiatives have been building for a while now, they are becoming increasingly organized, efficient, and effective.

Gleaning programs work under the idea that healthy, sustainable food shouldn't be limited to those who have enough money to pay for it, and that there really is enough out there to go around. Organized troupes of gleaners can make quick work of a field or orchard and deliver the results to local food banks, soup kitchens, schools, and nursing homes, something that a busy farmer just doesn't have time to do, but is often more than happy to contribute. Not all produce is worth selling. Some stuff is too small, mis-formed, has a few lesions, or something else is slightly unsightly, but it's all still delicious and nutritious. While farmers need to sell as much of their produce as possible in order to keep their business afloat, they are often willing to donate extra or unusable produce, especially if they know there's a need for it in their local community and the organization and delivery of it is taken care of.

Organization is key, which is why many gleaning volunteer groups are stepping it up a notch, forming online forums, email lists, and utilizing tools like Google docs and databases to keep track of volunteer farms and pounds of produce. While gleaning projects nationwide have become more efficient, and thereby more effective, by and large they still rely completely on the good will of dedicated volunteers. Few groups actually function on any funding, even though the costs that go into a successful gleaning project--mileage, harvesting equipment, time--can add up. Some food gleaning, however, has been taken under the wing of non-profits like anti-hunger organizations or even school groups, which can provide a little more structure and perhaps monetary support.

But even without much money, gleaning projects move forward, donating more and more fresh food from sustainable farms, as well as from individual back yards, and other forgotten places. Gleaning to distribute to food banks and those in need of fresh, healthy food supports a sustainable food system in several ways. The most obvious is that it cuts down on food waste. While the majority of food waste, which is an alarming amount, comes from institutions like schools, hospitals, and stores, as well as our own refrigerators. But some perfectly edible food does go to waste on the farm, which is what gleaners help eliminate. Almost more importantly,  gleaning helps enable local lower income residents to reap the benefits of local, sustainable food. By connecting those who are hungry more directly to sustainable food and its producers, gleaners help to change the face of the emergency food system in the U.S., which often hinges on donations of over processed, not very nutritious, and sometimes expired goods. Gleaning is an important and quick way to invigorate emergency food stocks with more real food and greatly increase access to  local, sustainable food.