The first week of August is National Farmers Market Week, an annual celebration of the people who grow, raise, bake, and create food that brings communities together. This week (like every week in the summer and early fall!) also happens to have a DC Central Kitchen volunteer gleaning shift on the calendar.
One of the most unique and popular ways we practice our mission of using food as a tool to strengthen bodies, empower minds, and build communities is through our gleaning shifts. For the vast majority of our gleaning volunteers, they were unfamiliar with the ancient term until they got their hands dirty. Gleaning, the act of collecting leftover crops from fields after a harvest, is a win-win for farmers and DC Central Kitchen.
Gleaning helps local farms save on labor costs and even pesticides, with volunteers harvesting food they wouldn’t otherwise sell and might leave out in the field. It helps DC Central Kitchen because we’re able to repurpose high-quality, locally grown food in our community meals program. Many of the farms we partner with already grow seasonal fruits and vegetables which are featured in our menus, so it’s easy to slot what we glean into our meals. Plain and simple, it prevents waste. It also helps build communities. The majority of feedback from our volunteers about this unique shift is how fun and rewarding it is. It’s one of the reasons these volunteer shifts at always at capacity.
“Gleaning shifts give volunteers the opportunity to harvest produce on a working farm,” says DC Central Kitchen procurement specialist Siobhan O’Flaherty. “For many of our volunteers, a DC Central Kitchen gleaning shift is the first time they’ve ever been on a farm or harvested fruits and vegetables. Seeing how produce is grown connects us all to our food system, and it’s rewarding to know that this produce will be served in our community. It also helps that all of our farm partners have beautiful properties.”
These properties aren’t nearly as far as you’d think. In fact, we do some gleaning in DC proper! This week we gleaned the beautiful and historic Franciscan Monastery Garden, a true oasis located in the Brookland neighborhood of DC, just six miles from our headquarters. It doesn’t get much more local than that!
In addition to gleaning at the century-year old garden with a deeply held charitable mission, we also glean at Butler’s Orchard, JK Community Farm, and Miller Farms, three farms we also purchase large quantities of high-quality produce from throughout the year.
Supporting local farms, getting hands in the dirt, and feeding neighbors, our gleaning shifts exemplify every aspect of our mission. If you’re interested in signing up for a shift, please visit our website today!
August 27 at JK Community Farm
September 3 at Franciscan Monastery – at capacity, waitlist available
September 17 at Butler’s Orchard – at capacity, waitlist available
October 1 at Franciscan Monastery – at capacity, waitlist available
October 15 at Butler’s Orchard
November 5 at JK Community Farm
November 19 at Franciscan Monastery – at capacity, waitlist available
