Local Volunteers Save Over 900 Pounds of Fresh Produce

In honor of the September 11th National Day of Service a group of motivated community members came together to harvest nearly 1000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables from around Union County. 

Volunteers gleaned apples and plums from the many trees around La Grande, collected unsold produce from the farmers market, and even picked the zucchinis from over-abundant gardens. Gleaning is the ancient tradition of gathering produce from fields that would otherwise be wasted.

The September 11th Day of Service was an opportunity for the community to come together and address hunger in our communities. 

Participants in the Gleaning Day were able to keep a portion of the produce they gathered and the rest was donated to Neighbor to Neighbor and Shelter From the Storm. Both organizations operate food banks where low-income community members can receive emergency food baskets. 

Hunger is a serious issue in Union County. In 2008, 4,452 emergency food boxes were distributed in the county. Because of a lack of processing and distribution infrastructure at the local level, it is often difficult to get enough healthy fresh fruits and vegetables into the emergency food distribution system. 

Gleaning efforts like the one on September 11th help make sure that some of the most at risk community members are still able to eat healthy food. Additionally, these efforts help keep food grown in the Grande Ronde Valley from being wasted.

Larry Hasty, one of the day's many volunteers, said as he picked a tree, "These people have more than enough apples; they could never eat this many apples. And someone else is going to have more than enough corn and they're not going to sell it. So if everyone comes together and we're all able to help one another, it makes life more fun, more appreciated, and it makes things more efficient."

The Gleaning Day of Service was sponsored by Oregon Rural Action, Oregon Volunteers!, the Center for Human Development, Community Connection, OSU Extension, and Bi Mart. A number of local organizations are working to build a hunger free community and there are always opportunities for getting involved.

For more information about this event and future gleaning opportunities, contact Oregon Rural Action at 541-975-2411 or email info@oregonrural.org.

Photos from the Gleaning Day of Service can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/groups/oregonrural/