What is Gleaning?
Gleaning is the simple act of collecting quality food that would otherwise go to waste and redistributing it to benefit the common good. It is a multi-faceted approach that reaches many audiences simultaneously, including FSO’s, providing a significant boost in the nutritional quality and quantity of food that they are able to distribute to their clients.
Through the Downeast Gleaning Initiative, Healthy Acadia, in partnership with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, works to address food insecurity in the region. We cooordinate gleaning opportunities throughout Hancock and Washington Counties, connecting volunteers with farms, orchards, farmers’ markets, and other food producers and vendors to collect food that would otherwise go to waste. We then manage distribution of the collected food to community meal sites and FSO’s.
On Monday Oct 9th, volunteers are needed to join in Apple Gleaning & Cider Making at Beech Hill Farm-COA for Distribution to Common Good Soup Kitchen in Southwest Harbor. This event is part of Maine Gleaning Week.
