Gleaning: A Biblical idea grows popular again
December 8, 2010
Dean Fosdick
ASSOCIATED PRESS
For many gardeners, charity begins at home with contributions of fresh produce to local food banks.
Other people volunteer as gleaners in farm fields and orchards, salvaging unused crops that might get plowed under, dumped or left to rot.
Gleaning is one of the earliest forms of charity, mentioned frequently in Biblical accounts as the gathering of unharvested crops purposely left in the corners of farm fields for anyone needing it.
Times again are tough for thousands of families who can’t afford a steady diet of fresh, wholesome fruits and vegetables. Yet an estimated 27 per cent of all food crops go unharvested in the United States — billions of kilograms, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Most are discarded because of cosmetic blemishes, harvesting problems or unstable market prices.
Enter such organizations as the Society of St. Andrew, Ample Harvest, Hidden Harvest, Maine Harvest for the Hungry Program, mid-Atlantic Gleaning Network, Senior Gleaners and many others that make it their business to find, collect and distribute produce for hungry consumers, from the elderly to schoolchildren.
“It used to be that gleaning was simply tolerated, that it was legal to do but had some sort of stigma attached,” said Barbara Murphy, an extension educator with the University of Maine who also oversees its Maine Harvest for the Hungry Program. “But gleaning is becoming more popular because the sheer quantity of the bounty that doesn’t get used is immense. Now it’s a matter of reducing waste.”
American consumers are picky, refusing to buy misshapen potatoes, discoloured cauliflower or peppers with sunspots, said Christy Porter, founder and executive director of Hidden Harvest Inc., a produce recovery program in Coachella, Calif.
“We got the entire corn crop from one commercial grower recently because the ears were too small to market,” she said.
Fluctuating commodity prices also result in large contributions, Porter said.
“Farmers pay for the seed, pay to water it and then the market falls out. That leaves them with 40 acres (16 hectares) planted in one field and 80 acres (32 hectares) in another,” she said. “The grower wants to plow it under and move on. Part of our job is to get in there quick and get it up so the farmer can get his field back and the stuff doesn’t bake in the sun.”
A recent trend of landscaping with citrus trees has opened new opportunities for a free and nutritious fruit supply in that region.
“There are literally millions of citrus trees around here that are allowed to go bad,” Porter said. “Some resorts are paying $20,000 to $25,000 a year to throw away a lot of the unused fruit. We were able to pick up a half-million pounds (227 million kilograms) of citrus.”
Packing houses and cold storage facilities often are good sources for surplus fresh food.
“We can get more from a tractor-trailer truck at one time than we can from having people out in the field picking produce,” said Kristy Nash, director of the Carolinas at the Society of St. Andrew in Durham, N.C.
Donations of any kind are readily accepted, but fresh produce often is more valuable than cash to food banks, Nash said.
“It helps restore health, helps kids do better in school and getting people to cook it in their homes to improve their overall diets is important in the fight against obesity,” she said.
Gardeners wishing to contribute are advised to plan ahead.
“Dedicate a row of vegetables or fruit from some trees well in advance,” said Maine Extension’s Murphy. “Contact whomever you plan to donate to. They can even come and help pick it.”