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GleanSLO, a collaborative program of the Food Bank aims to rescue excess before it hits the ground. Gleaning, which dates to biblical times, relies on volunteers to harvest produce farmer and gardeners cannot due to economics or weather. It's good for the growers who are happy to see the fruits of their labors appreciated and may receive tax benefits. And it's good for the hungry--in three years the program has recovered an incredible 300,000 lbs of quality local produce. Moreover, GleanSLO has seen the community at large come together around the issue of hunger to build social fabric and solve this great challenge of our time. Mission College Preparatory Catholic High School and the the Ikeda Brothers of Pismo Oceano Vegetable Exchange might seem like an odd partnership, but united to end hunger they're naturals. Through this collaboration students have already harvested thousands of pounds of donated produce. GleanSLO looks to form more such dedicated partnerships, making results more predictable and fruitful. Urban produce represent an untapped boon, a food source adjacent to the need. Originally GleanSLO grew out of a desire to bring this source together with the need, basing their vision upon the national Backyard Harvest organization's model. However, farmers began contacting GleanSLO, offering tons of produce at a time — an immediate remedy to the urgent need in our county. In the meantime, the smaller, more dispersed yields of urban produce fell by the wayside. While urban yields are often lower than commercial farms for gleaning, GleanSLO's organizers recognized the social and environmental benefits of urban produce. Urban produce could involve even more people in understanding our food system, building community relationships, and ending hunger. Urban produce harvested and distributed with fewer vehicle miles also stands to reduce the environmental impacts of transportation, especially greenhouse gas emissions. With the unveiling of a ground-breaking new website urban produce is back on the table. Homeowners simply register a harvest through the GleanSLO website. GleanSLO handles volunteer recruitment, scheduling, produce transportation and equipment for a gleaning event at the site. Priority goes to sites with 200 or more pounds of produce, and volunteer turnout is not guaranteed. The best option for homeowners with only a small amount of produce is to drop it off at the nearest Food Bank Warehouse where it is gratefully received. More info can be found at their website. The updated website has many features besides. Now, rather than dealing with the challenge of matching and coordinating the right number of volunteers in the right area to specific gleans, GleanSLO simply posts gleaning opportunities on their website. Registered volunteers can sign up for the glean that best suits them and receive updates, directions, and information about that glean automatically. Thanks to a recent $5000 grant, GleanSLO has turned in their borrowed, broken equipment for new harvest bags, ladders, and harvest boxes. However, they continue to gratefully accept donations as their program expands--especially a dedicated truck, ladders, and harvest bags. Volunteers, gardeners, and farmers can visit GleanSLO.org to get picking! (Also, like GleanSLO on FaceBook.)  All content copyright Slo Coast Journal and Greg Ellis. Do not use without express written permission. |
