Feel Good Friday - Gleaners

I’m in Oregon City this week and learned about a fantastic local organization that distributes resources to people in need, Gleaners of Clackamas County Inc.

Founded in 1972 and headquartered in Oregon City, Oregon, Gleaners of Clackamas County Inc. (Gleaners) is a 100% volunteer-run organization that “collects and distributes food and nonfood items to limited income, elderly, and disabled residents of Clackamas County.” Their mission is to share food, reduce waste, and build community.

It all starts with gleaning, “the act of collecting leftover crops from farmers' fields after they have been commercially harvested or on fields where it is not economically profitable to harvest.” In the early days of Gleaners, a group of volunteers picked fields and distributed food in the community. Today, while volunteers still glean farms and fields, the organization now also distributes surplus food from grocers, restaurants and food manufacturers, as well as clothing and household goods from the public.​ Learn more in this short video.

One unique aspect of Gleaners is that it is an all-volunteer, cooperatively run program. Most volunteers are members of Gleaners who work within a team. In return for paying a small monthly membership fee and working 4 hours per month, members are given a food box one to two times a week and they have access to free clothing and seasonal events like a summer picnic, back-to-school giveaways, Halloween costume exchanges and more. Members also share a portion of their food with an adoptee, someone in the community who is either 65+ years old or disabled. There is no cost or work requirements for adoptees.

Gleaners also offers emergency food boxes to people in Clackamas County who experience a sudden change in circumstance, like job loss, that prevents them from feeding their family. Membership is not required to receive this box of food.

On average, Gleaners provides 3,000 individuals with a generous supply of food every week. They also distribute any excess to church groups, food pantries and other charities bringing their overall reach to more than 5,000 people per week. 

If you want to help Gleaners reduce hunger and waste in Clackamas County, there are several ways to do so. People who live locally can become a member or volunteer. The rest of us can donate money and spread the word on social media by liking the Gleaners Facebook page.

Feel Good Friday - City Harvest

Thanksgiving is next week and I’ve got food and family on my mind. That’s why I want to spend today’s Feel Good Friday talking about an organization dedicated to feeding hungry New Yorkers, City Harvest.

Founded in 1982, the mission of City Harvest is “to end hunger in communities throughout New York City.” They do this through food rescue and distribution, education, and other innovative solutions. This one-minute video gives a great overview.

Before we talk about the work, let’s talk about hunger in New York City. According to statistics on the City Harvest website, 1.5 million New Yorkers are struggling to feed themselves right now, including one in four children. Food insecurity has surged 36% since the beginning of the pandemic. 

This is where City Harvest comes in. Every day they have a fleet of 26 refrigerated trucks on the road, rescuing 300,000 pounds of nutritious food from donors such as farms, restaurants, grocers, and manufacturers. This food is then delivered to hundreds of soup kitchens, food pantries and other community partners in all five boroughs across New York City. To date, City Harvest has rescued and delivered more than 1 billion pounds of free food!

Nutrition education programs are focused on teaching people how to prepare delicious, nutritious meals and shop for healthy foods on a budget. While in-person workshops are still on hold, you can sign up for a virtual class or access recipes and video tutorials here.

Additional programs include: Mobile Markets, where community members gather in farmer’s market settings to receive fresh produce and participate in cooking demonstrations; Healthy Retail, which helps corner stores increase fruit and vegetable sales; and Plentiful, a mobile app available in nine languages that people use to locate food pantries near them and make reservations to pick up food without waiting in lines.

If you like what City Harvest is doing to feed New Yorkers, help them out by supporting their work. If you live in New York City you can volunteer your time. The rest of us can make a donation and amplify their message on social media. Like the City Harvest Facebook page and follow them on Twitter @CityHarvest (while it still exists) and Instagram @cityharvestnyc. #WeAreCityHarvest