The Share:
- Lettuce
- Greens
- Chard
- Tomatoes
- Potatoes
- Peppers
- Eggplant
- Garlic
- Onions
- Scallions
- Broccoli
- Beets
- Watermelons
- PYO Basil
- PYO Flowers
- PYO Cherry Tomatoes
- PYO Hot Peppers
- PYO Tomatillos
Food Relief at Appleton Farms
Gleaning- the act of collecting surplus crops from a farmers
field after the harvest
Have you ever wondered what happens to the extra food we
grow at Appleton Farms CSA? When we have
a bumper crop of cabbage or eggplant, more than the CSA could possible use
before it all spoils, where does this abundance go? For a long time the answer might have been
that we donated a couple hundred pounds each week to local food pantries, feed
some to the pigs and chickens and that we either didn’t harvest or that we were
forced to compost the rest. While there
is certainly a great deal of merit to allowing good food that we don’t have need
for to return to the soil and increase the fertility of the land, this answer felt
a little unsatisfying at times. When you
put as much energy and care into growing vegetables as we do, you want to know that
your hard work has gone to good use. We
had a problem of capacity: we could grow
it but we couldn’t harvest it all and even if we did we had no place to take
it. Fortunately in 2013 we began our
relationship with the Boston Area
Gleaners and our cooperation with this fantastic organization has increase
exponentially over the last few years.
Last year we donated over 6000lbs of food to the gleaners and this
season we are on track to double our donation numbers. Why does this partnership work so well? The Boston Area Gleaners basically act as an
intermediary between farmers and food agencies.
They supply the harvest labor and the transportation of the food. This removes a tremendous economic barrier
from our mission of food relief. Can you
imagine how much a CSA share would cost if we had to subsidize all the extra
hours of labor spent on harvesting and transporting 10,000+lbs of food? Because
the Gleaners have relationships with 500+ food agencies they are also able to
distribute food much more effectively through our local communities then we
could alone. For the farmers this
really takes the work out of food relief.
It is probably clear by now that I am a big fan of the
Gleaners but I didn’t make this post just to gush. The Boston Area Gleaners is a non profit organization and
it really runs on the help of its dedicated volunteers. Recruiting folks to help the Gleaners in
their effort to help those in need is a huge job. Just as on the farm there is always more work
than there are hands to do it. There
have been times when the gleaners haven’t been able to organize a large enough
work force in time to take advantage of an opportunity here at Appleton and I’m
sure this happens elsewhere as well. The Gleaners need volunteers who can show up at the farm and help with several hours of harvest. This is where we can all get involved. Who
better to glean Appleton Farms than the Appleton Farms CSA members? I encourage you to sign up to be a volunteer
with the Gleaners HERE and
then check out the Gleaning Trips page to sign up for specific gleaning opportunities.
My hope is that you will be inspired to get involved with
this fantastic organization and by doing so you will strengthen our partnership
with the gleaners. With your help we
will be able to capitalize faster when opportunities arise here at
Appleton. You will also step onto the
farm with a greater
knowledge and connection to this farm than the average
volunteer. You may even discover a
deeper appreciation for all of the fantastic produce that does make it into the
share room each week as you learn more intimately what it requires to grow and
harvest these crops. I signed up myself
just this morning. I hope you’ll do the
same. Happy gleaning! I’ll see you out there.
