My first official post as a Viewfinder! I’m sharing my photos from a gleaning program that I co-founded in San Luis Obispo, California. I was involved in the program for twelve years, becoming a paid manager for one year, and the rest as a volunteer on our steering committee and documenting the program over the years.
Our group encouraged local farmers and homeowners to donate excess produce and we partnered with and became adopted by our county food bank.
A mentor told me to document from the very beginning. I’m so glad she did! I captured the first harvests, donations, our first volunteers. At one of our first neighborhood harvests, my husband and I knocked on the door of a home with a very full orange tree in the front yard. The homeowner answered, thrilled his oranges could be used. Walking by his house fifteen years later, I can still recall his enthusiasm.
Our steering committee of community members and food bank staff strategized about a collective vision for the program. We grew the program step by step, tree by tree. We created a website, started a Flickr account, Facebook page, Instagram and made sure to send photos from our harvests to our volunteers and farmers. We spent a lot of time networking with farmers, volunteers, homeowners.
In the first year, a generous offer came from a local family to harvest apples at their orchard. We had weekly harvests and gleaned thousands of pounds of apples!
We couldn’t capture them all.
Soon after, a large scale grower offered his fields as an opportunity for high school students to experience harvesting. He contacted another farming family- we continued to grow. We were grateful to the farmers who offered their crops and always respected their land.
I recall the details of many harvests-how it felt to be in the orchard on a warm summer day with bountiful peach trees.
During the years I was involved, food insecurity was often on my mind, a puzzle to be solved.
Volunteers and farmers love the program, it is truly meaningful work for all. Connecting with the community has always been my passion. It is one of my deepest joys that the program continues to thrive.
Never could I have imagined when we were picking those first few trees that over three million pounds of locally grown produce would have been harvested and donated to community people in need.
I remain in awe of our farmers and volunteers, grateful to the food bank staff, and honored to have documented this program over the years.
14 Comments
Comments are closed.
Welcome!
This is wonderful! It reminded me that I had heard something about a local gleaning group that I might like to volunteer for. I forgot its name but found it on https://nationalgleaningproject.org/, which other Americans interested in gleaning projects can use to find ones local to them.
Thank you for sharing the National Gleaning Project website. In the past, I attended a statewide gleaning conference organized by a Northern California group called Village Harvest. It was worthwhile to see other groups doing this kind of work and to get ideas. I’m curious which local group you may have found?
This is amazing!!! Thank you for all the work you do.
Belated thank you, Staci! It’s been a delight to work together with friends and new volunteers doing this work.
I love everything about this. I wish I could join you doing this one day…
Kirstin, thank you! I wish you could, too. Looking up gleaning groups in the UK, I found one called Avon Gleaning Network, though I think a few hours from you. I’ll see what else I can find!
What a wonderful program! And you’ve documented it beautifully.
Thank you, Valérie. It was hard to select which ones to share. I have so many images as there is much beauty to capture from the harvests!
This is fabulous! I love that you were encouraged to document it. It sounds like an incredible program and opportunity to get involved.
Jacqui, thank you. I had a mentor whom I met through reading articles about her program and she encouraged me to photograph from the very beginning. I’m grateful that I had people like her from other groups giving me some tips.
An inspiring project and wonderful photographs. Thanks for sharing your journey!
Marielle, Belated thank you! You’ve seen many images of mine from the project. Thank you for reading and for your support!
What an amazing service that you created and grew, all from an idea. It’s an inspiration and an example of what one person can do to change the world for the better. Compassion and resourcefulness and community! ♥️
Thank you dear Betsy. It was such a rewarding time over those years, and with so many people involved. I’m so glad it continues on!