Gleaning is a Biblical term referring to
the law of those times that required farmers to let
peasants onto their farms after harvest
to “glean” whatever produce was left in the fields.
Today, farmers usually plow it under. Produce is left out there
for various reasons —
the imperfection of harvest
machinery (i.e. potatoes), or because the produce became
overripe,
slightly damaged by frost, or otherwise
imperfect and hard to market,
but still edible and
nutritious.
Gleaning Green Beans at Gore Place, July, 2009.
Boston Area Gleaners’ mission is to remedy this waste
by harvesting and delivering the produce to food pantries and shelters!
Our core activities are:
Contacting Boston area farmers to ask if they have any gleaning opportunities.
Harvesting left over produce and delivering it to food pantries and shelters.
Working with farmers to donate produce seconds after farmers’ markets.
Contributing produce to Seconds Market at Arlington’s public housing where
donated and gleaned produce is purveyed at $1 per large grocery bag.
Contacting grocery stores for produce and baked goods seconds, as well as meats,
thus supplementing farm-gleaned produce, particularly in the winter for hunger relief programs.
Boston Area Gleaners was started in 2004, and incorporated in 2007 as a 501 c3 non-profit.
Read our 2009 Annual Report and the history section of the Website
