Farm fields ‘gleaned’ for food needy by volunteers weekly

Published 12:01 am Monday, December 22, 2014

SEQUIM — Gleaners gather every Monday at Sequim-area farms to ensure that good food doesn’t go to waste.

“Gleaners brave all kinds of weather to go into the fields or packing sheds of local farms to harvest the crops left behind or discarded because of some defect in appearance that makes them unsuitable for sale,” said Patty McManus-Huber, promotions coordinator for Nash’s Organic Produce, in a news release.

The produce is distributed to food banks in Sequim, Port Angeles and Forks; the Salvation Army; Sunrise Senior Home; various churches; and Peninsula Behavioral Health, McManus-Huber said.

The volunteers — with Lee Bowen acting as the de facto organizer, sending out weekly emails about where and when the gleaning will happen — glean for about two hours each week.

“We’ve collected, on average, about 5,000 pounds of produce each year,” Bowen said.

“It’s good to see it go to people in need.”

Gleaning locally started in 2008 under the leadership of AmeriCorps/Olympic Community Action Programs, which ran the program for a year.

Afterward, a group of volunteers continued the work, mostly at Nash’s farm.

In 2013, Clallam County received a state Department of Ecology grant to coordinate gleaning as part of a waste-reduction program.

They also focused on other farms, partnering with Blueberry Haven, Johnston Farms and River Run Farm to glean thousands of pounds every year.

“This produce would otherwise go to our animals,” McManus-Huber said, “but we grew it intending for people to eat it.

“We can’t afford the time or costs to distribute the produce, so the gleaners really close that circle.

“They connect the food to the families that need it.”

Bowen was one of the first people to respond to the notice in the newspaper in 2008.

“I love farming and gardening,” he said, “so this was a natural thing for me to do.”

Some gleaners are retirees, while others are families with children, many of whom are home-schooled, and they learn simultaneously where their food comes from and the value of community service.

Mark Ozias, director of the Sequim Food Bank, said he was delighted to receive a bin of organic carrots from Nash’s just before Thanksgiving this year.

“They were gone in no time,” he said. “We will be glad to get a couple more bins before Christmas.”

The Sequim Food Bank served more than 2,100 different families at least once in 2014.

“Nash’s has been an important silent partner of the Sequim Food Bank for a long time,” Ozias said, “and I am excited to strengthen that relationship.

“In 2015, we will work to improve the quality of food we distribute, as well as helping provide our visitors with basic educational opportunities around nutrition and basic cooking skills.”

For more information about gleaning or to get involved, contact Meggan Uecker, waste-reduction coordinator for the WSU Extension of Clallam County, at 360-417-2279 or muecker@co.clallam.wa.us.