Don’t waste it, glean it

Ever since relocating to California a few years ago, one of the things that continues to surprise me is the amount of fruit trees that go unharvested.

We all know those trees: a specific orange or grapefruit tree, or the most common culprit, the persimmon tree, located in a neighbor’s yard that goes unpicked throughout the season. Rotten fruit falls to the ground, waiting for someone to find the time to pick it up and toss it into the yard waste bin.

In Sonoma Valley, on any given day, approximately 2,500 of our neighbors go hungry: a single mother who can barely make ends meet and skips breakfast so she can feed her children or a widowed elderly man with physical challenges making it tough to leave the house, let alone cook dinner – his one meal of the day comes from Meals on Wheels.

Sonoma Valley’s food distribution services, which include Meals on Wheels, Ceres Community Project, Teen Services Sonoma, the Brown Baggers, and FISH, often struggle to find sources for fresh and healthy food to be distributed to those in need. Cheap, processed food is plentiful, but, those foods are high in calories, fats, and sugars – unsuitable for sustaining a healthy lifestyle.

Thank goodness for gleaners.

Gleaning is an ancient form of food collection. In the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 25:1 defines gleaning as “a right given by God to pick up anything left in the fields at harvest time, and this is a special gift for those with real need.”

And that is just what it is: collecting left over crops, unpicked produce, or produce that has been “passed” its sell by date for distribution to those in need. Whether you are religious or not, everyone can agree: letting food go to waste is terrible.

Sonoma Valley Gleaning Project (SVGP) was founded in 2012 by Episcopalian Deacon Phina Borgeson, when she was serving at Sonoma’s Trinity Episcopal. She noticed work being done by other gleaning groups in the county, such as Redwood Empire Food Bank and Farm to Pantry and recognized the need for such a program in Sonoma Valley.

“We want to encourage an ethic of sharing, and strengthen neighborliness in our community.”

– Deancon Phina Borgeson

Armed with a group of dedicated volunteers (and the always need more!), SVGP drops off leaflets at houses where unpicked fruit trees reside and shares their mission with restaurants, farms, groceries, and other food users/producers.

They hope that they’ll receive a call or email allowing them to come by and harvest or pick up surplus produce and deliver it to food distribution services that prepare and deliver it to local residents. This isn’t guerilla fruitpicking – community members must give permission to SVGP to glean.

In 2013-14, they recovered over 3000 lbs. of food, comprising mainly of fruit from local residents’ trees! They have food preservation workshops in the Fall, which teaches safe canning practices and recipes that make good use of potentially wasted produce.

The work isn’t easy and SVGP needs more our help to ensure that Sonoma Valley’s hungry are well fed.

First, they are looking for new food donors. Do you have a fruit tree that could go unharvested or have excess produce from your garden? Are you a restaurant owner/manager or do you work at a grocery store where excess or “less fresh” produce risks the compost bin over the mouths of hungry Sonomans? Does your farm stand have leftover produce that failed to sell after the farmers’ market? Connect with SVGP to explore how you can donate your produce to the cause.

Second, they need more volunteers. They need folks who can scout for surplus produce, harvest (when the owner invites them to do so) and deliver the produce as needed. They’re also seeking folks who have communication skills. They need help with community organizing, communication (think social media, SVGP promotion), and other tasks that aren’t as physically demanding as harvesting.

Our neighbors should not go hungry. By creating a culture of sharing and thoughtfulness for our neighbors, we can help feed those in need and not let a single bit go to waste. Contact SVGP at [email protected] and on their Facebook: facebook.com/svgleaning.