Food recovery is the practice of harvesting edible foods that would otherwise go to waste. The recovered food is edible, but often not sellable due to some imperfection. However, many times the food is unblemished. The farmers may donate this produce because it marginally fails quality control at the commercial packer, or because produce has become short-dated. Sometimes farmers just have too much produce to sell and they share with us!

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Our most common methods of food recovery include:

• Field Gleaning - Collecting the various crops from farm fields that may have been mechanically harvested or in fields where it is no longer economically profitable for the farmer to harvest. 

• Backyard Gleaning – Gathering fruits and vegetables from backyard gardens or orchards when the produce is in abundance or maybe a burden (or even a wildlife attractant!) to the home owners. We're here to help! 

• Perishable Food Rescue – Distributing perishable produce from wholesale farms or other sources the would normally find its way to the landfill. This produce is distributed to the community at large.

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Gleaning

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Gleaning is the act of going out to the farm fields and harvesting surplus produce that the farmers will not harvest for market. In Biblical times, farmers would not harvest the outer edges of their fields and vineyards leaving the food for orphans, widows and travelers to pick. In the modern day, gleaning is more about preventing would-be waste.me. 

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Learn More About Gleaning >