For a Bountiful Summer Glean, All Hands are Needed
A volunteer gleans lettuce at Riverside Farm in East Hardwick.
by Theresa Snow, Community Journalist
MORRISVILLE – As the growing and gleaning season ramps up, join Salvation Farms in the fields.
Farmers grow food to feed their community and gleaning is one way that helps them do just that, but it takes coordination and volunteers. To glean means to gather crops that local farms have not harvested or harvested but have not sold. Salvation Farms partners with local farms and volunteers to move this produce to food programs throughout the Lamoille Valley and Northeast Kingdom. Salvation Farms can make a difference and volunteers are needed. Individuals and families may join the gleaning, and gain a greater understanding of local farms and local food.
With the help of community members, more than 65,000 pounds or upwards of 200,000 servings of nutritious produce, from potatoes to Romanesco broccoli to tomatoes, was collected from farms and provided to eaters who might not have otherwise had access to these locally grown foods, and the nutrition they provide.
Community members are welcome to assist with in-field and on-farm gleans, packing produce, delivering gleaned fruit and vegetables, and many other volunteer opportunities throughout the year as well as administrative work to help in the office.
To register as a gleaner and to stay in the loop about events nearby, see vermontgleaningcollective.org.
To learn more about Salvation Farms, see salvationfarms.org
[Theresa Snow is the executive director at Salvation Farms.]
