Gleaning
"Gleaning" is the salvage of crops left after harvest or unused, such as rejects from commercial harvesting or fruit in abandoned orchards. Leviticus 23:22 instructs God's people not to harvest the corners of their land and to let the poor have the stray leftovers, as many farmers still do to this day. Gleaning can also refer to the collection of unused food by modern groups, who then distribute it among food banks and the needy.
Leviticus 23:22 (King James version)
And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.
The Idea Behind Gleaning
As anyone who has worked in the commercial food industry can attest, huge amounts of food are wasted in the United States every day, from spillage, fear of spoilage, or for cosmetic reasons. Organized group of gleaners work to identify these areas of waste and minimize them, on the theory that some hunger can be eliminated by more efficient distribution. In some areas this may involve systematically gathering fallen fruit before or after harvest, diverting foods near their "pull date" from store shelves for immediate consumption, or following along after mechanical harvesters to collect and distribute what machines miss. However accomplished, gleaners work to identify and minimize food waste to alleviate hunger.The "Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act" is a 1996 federal law that helps businesses overcome concerns about possible legal liability related to any donated food, only making donors liable for harm resulting from "gross negligence," if they provide donations in good faith.
Gleaning Organizations in Washington and Oregon
There are a variety of gleaning organizations in Oregon and Washington, each with a slightly different structure and focus. Some are very informal, while others are formal corporations or affiliated with specific food banks or county anti-hunger programs.Clackamas County Gleaners
Clackamas County Gleaners, Inc., is a self-help 501(c)3 organization. With income qualifications and a membership fee, all members are also expected to provide "sweat equity" as well by actively participating in the physical work of gleaning. With options for others to work on behalf of or sponsor the old or infirm, Clackamas County Gleaners gather and process food for distribution to local food banks and among themselves. Similar organizations exist in Marion and Polk counties in the agriculturally rich southern Willamette Valley, such as the Rainbow and Silverton Harvesters.Gleaners Coalition of Thurston County, Washington
Since 2005, the Gleaners Coalition of Thurston County has helped to feed people in and around Olympia. In addition to helping small farmers get tax deductions, they also staff a variety of "giving gardens" and develop recipes for distribution by their local food bank which help people to better use local and gleaned produce. They have ambitions to start a non-profit cafe which will also increase awareness of local hunger, while working to decrease local hunger itself.For Further Information
- Gleaners of Clackamas County, Inc., Post Office Box 1660, Oregon City OR 97405, (503) 655-8740
- The Gleaners Coalition, Post Office Box 1413, Olympia WA 98507, (360) 705-0193
- UrbanGleaners.org of Portland
- Oregon Food Bank's gleaning program and information
- "Gleaning and Food Recovery as Tools to Reconnect at the Local Level" on SlowMovement.com, ©2009 Footprint Choices.
- "More Groups Are Feeding the Hungry With What Others Leave." New York Times, March 3, 1996.
- Full text of the The Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, (Public Law 104-210, 110 Stat. 3011, enacted October 1, 1996).
- Forgotten Harvest of Michigan.
- Golden Empire Gleaners of California.