What is gleaning?
Volunteers connect with farmers to harvest (glean) surplus fruits or vegetables that would otherwise not be sold or eaten for various reasons; from overproduction, to changes in supermarket orders, to arbitrary cosmetic standards. The produce is then redistributed to food projects and organisations in the region. Read our one page document on Common Causes of Farm Level Food Waste here.
I am a farmer with surplus produce, how do I invite gleaners onto my farm?
If you are a farmer and have (or expect to have) surplus, please either check the gleaning map to contact local groups in your area, or contact ren@foodrise.org.uk who will point you to local gleaners.
Does my group need to be a formally-structured ‘organisation’ such as a registered charity?
In short, no. There are many gleaning groups who exist in a purely volunteer-run capacity. However, organisations with a recognised legal structure (such as charities, community interest companies, cooperatives, etc) may find it easier to establish themselves.
For example, we recommend that all gleaning groups hold an insurance policy; also, many fundraising opportunities are not available to individuals or unincorporated groups.
Can gleaning projects be set-up in any location?
Gleaning can take place in any region where fruits or vegetables are grown for retail. Therefore this is the first consideration, or point of research, for any group interested in gleaning.
How many orchards, fruit farms or vegetable growers are there within reasonable travel distance? What kinds of fruits and vegetables are being grown? What is the seasonality (harvest time) for those crops?
There is little to no commercial fruit and veg farming in my region – how can I still get involved in food rescue activities?
There are opportunities for gleaning beyond commercial farms, for example, urban harvesting. Harvesting fruit from public parks and resident’s gardens (with permission), small scale gleaning from community growing projects and city farms. Also, collection and distribution from wholesale markets and farmers’ markets.
Is there already a gleaning group in my area?
Have a look at our map to see if gleaning is happening in your region. If you want to run your own gleaning in that region, reach out to existing groups to make sure you collaborate with different farms.
Other than access to farms, what are the main considerations for setting up a gleaning group?
- A team of willing and motivated volunteers.
- What you will pack the produce into
- How you will transport the food (and maybe the volunteers)
- Who you will distribute the food to. This may working with other charities and groups or larger redistribution organisations (e.g. FareShare).
How much time is required to run a gleaning project? Is this expected to be done on a voluntary basis, or is there funding available for paid staff?
It is up to you to decide how much time to commit to gleaning – there is no right or wrong answer. The ‘scale of opportunity’ will differ according to how many growers and the types of produce in your region.
It is possible to run gleaning on a voluntary basis, especially if there are several people organising together. Some groups may prefer to seek funding to pay for a part-time gleaning coordinator. Generally, Foodrise has funded coordinators for a 2 or 3 day a week role.
Foodrise do not have funding to provide grants currently, but can offer support and advice to help you find and apply for funding.
Is gleaning a large-scale operation? Is my group too small to handle this?
Gleaning groups come in all shapes and sizes. Some operate at the larger end of the scale, and often harvest between 1 to 5 tonnes of fruits and vegetables (and sometimes more than 20 tonnes!).
Small is also beautiful – and “little and often” can be still be very impactful. Gleaners in Bristol make weekly visits to a local market garden.
Does my group need to own a vehicle?
Vehicles aren’t essential but they can be useful for two reasons. Firstly, volunteers need to travel to the farm and many farms are situated away from good transport routes. Having one or more car-owners within your group or volunteer-pool is helpful.
Secondly, you need to consider how the produce will be transported from the farm to the organisation(s) who will use it. For smaller-scale gleans, it’s usually possible to move the produce using a van or a team of cars. For larger-scale gleans, there are organisations such as FareShare or Felix Project who can help with collecting and finding outlets for surplus produce.