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Do you have some fruit or vegetables to spare? Whether you have one tree in your backyard that never gets harvested, you own a u-pick that still has fruit at the end of the season, or you are a farmer that doesn’t want to see their leftover tomatoes go to waste, we want to hear from you!

Your crop will be picked by a dedicated group of volunteers who will be given detailed instructions (by you or us) about how to harvest the crop. We typically book a gleaning session based on your availability that lasts between 2 and 4 hours on a single day.

After you contact us, we will work to set a date and time and let volunteers know what they need to. On the day of the pick you can provide additional information and show volunteers where and how to harvest. At the end of the day you can keep up to 1/3 of what was harvested if you wish.  The rest of the harvest is shared between volunteer pickers and those who need it most.

 

Registering doesn’t mean you are committed to having gleaners each season, it just lets us know that either you have a crop coming up that needs to be harvested, or that you may have a crop to harvest in the future.

Growers we have worked with in the past have loved this opportunity because it means they don’t have to see their crop go to waste if it wouldn’t otherwise be harvested and it means less clean-up, pests and disease later on!

Here’s a few more guidelines before you sign up!

  • Please be present on the day of the glean to provide directions about harvesting, harvesting areas and any potential safety issues.
  • If you are not able to be present, please meet with the gleaning coordinator  before the glean to provide details that can be passed on to participants.
  • Please try to give as much notice as possible to the project coordinator before a glean. This notice helps us to organize an adequate number of volunteers.
  • Please provide as many details as possible about amount of crop, location, any rules for parking and any safety precautions before the day of the glean.
  • As some volunteers will be new pickers, any instructions you can offer to support their efforts will be most helpful.
  • Please respect and keep confidential any information about volunteers.
  • Make the harvest area as safe as possible before the volunteers arrive, remove any debris and equipment from the area and flag any holes or dangerous objects.
  • Provide any harvest equipment that is crop-specific (or note any equipment required to the project coordinator, who may be able to arrange to acquire it).
  • Alert the project coordinator of any disease or pest infestation and how to identify it.
  • Provide containers for the portion of the harvest that you will be keeping.
  • Alert the project coordinator with at least 12 hours notice if the glean needs to be cancelled for any reason.
  • Let us know if you we are able to take and share photos of our event on your property.