By Dena Allen
Produce Exchange Co-host & Grange Member
What to do on a hot summer day when many plants have an abundance of edible gifts for us? Glean!
I used to glean with the non-profit group, Farm to Pantry, but these days my gleans are mostly on our property or at a friend’s place. Gleaning, the act of collecting produce and leftover crops for use or redistribution, historically goes back to Biblical times, and is such a feel-good activity. Picking produce to keep it from becoming food waste and giving it to others brings joy to both the giver and the receiver.
On a recent morning, I had a date set up with my friend, Marilyn, to come to her house and glean the nectarines from her very happy nectarine tree. As I was picking all the nectarines I could safely reach, Marilyn and I had a chance to chat about all the improvements to her garden she has made this past year. Her yard is neat and tidy and a food forest for humans, critters and pollinators. Marilyn was inspired to revive her garden after she received one of the garden boxes from the Equinox Garden Box Build last spring. That simple gift of a new garden box inspired Marilyn to have two more boxes built and seeded with herbs and greens. Paying it forward, Marilyn gifted me with two bags of her arugula and about 40 pounds of nectarines and prune plums from her trees to pass on to others.
My next stop was to my friend Huck’s house. Huck, too, has his neighborhood lot filled with fruit trees, plus a healthy garden, and he is always willing to share the edibles. I knew the Gravenstein apple tree in his yard was dripping with apples this year, so I offered to collect some to bring to the next Produce Exchange at the Grange. In about 10 minutes of chatting, Huck and I had filled a box with 33 pounds of apples. I left Huck with one of the bags of Marilyn’s arugula to enjoy and a promise to share the apples.
Although I did have a pleasant morning visiting with friends while gleaning, the joy didn’t stop there. I took some of the fruit to the The Inter-Church Food Pantry at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church and some to the Sebastopol Grange Produce Exchange/Donation. It is such a good feeling hearing the volunteers at the food pantry say it is good to put produce into the food bags and for us gardeners to keep the homegrown goods coming. And at the Produce Exchange, the fresh fruits and veggies bring a smile to everyone’s face.
So look around—maybe there are some gleaning opportunities in your neighborhood or friendship circle. Share the bounty.