After farmers commercially reap their fields, up to 20% of the bounty the land produced is left unharvested. Perhaps some produce did not meet the appearance standards of grocery stores. Maybe part of the crop matured late, but was not enough to be economically profitable to gather. Some food was abandoned just because it was not seen in the rush to complete the harvest.
Gleaning unharvested food dates back thousands of years. Even in Biblical times, the poor gathered leftover crops to feed themselves.
Today, gleaning is an important food source for schools, food banks, and other recipients with limited means. Gleaning brings fresh grains and produce - the best food nature has to offer - to hungry people. Leftover crops, if not gleaned, would rot or be plowed back into the soil. All the energy, water, and other resources that went into growing the food are wasted when the plants are not eaten. So gleaning is a win/win for people and for nature.
Just as one example, the California nonprofit Marin Organic has gleaned 130,000 pounds of local, certified organic food for schools and other community groups in Marin County in Northern California. Every week, their program feeds fresh, local, organic produce to 10,000 children.
Often, students and their families do the gleaning. As Miguel Villarreal, food services director for Novato Unified School District points out, being on the farm has many advantages. The children get to spend quality time with their parents and classmates on a positive project.
The kids connect with the soil and understand where their food comes from. Within a day or two of gleaning, the students enjoy a healthy lunch with the crops they just gathered. Sustainability leaps from words on a page to a meal that engages all the senses.
Gleaning fosters a sense of community. When volunteers gather more than schools can use, the extra goes to local food banks. The kids see they are making a difference.
Schools all over Marin and in 15 states across the country participated in Marin Organic's first annual National Gleaning Day on September 20, 2010. You don't need to wait for the next National Gleaning Day on September 12, 2011 to volunteer. Simply search "gleaning" and the name of your community on any search engine, and see how you can get involved in this ancient, yet modern, tradition.
Janice Stanger, Ph.D., is a plant-based nutrition author, educator, and speaker. You can read chapter excerpts, find recipe resources, and learn about permanent, hunger-free weight loss on the site for her whole-foods book The Perfect Formula Diet. Janice would enjoy connecting with you on Facebook and Twitter.
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