1. Gleaning in Klamath Falls

2. What is ‘gleaning?’
In the strict sense of the word, gleaning is “the act of collecting leftover crops from farmers’ fields have they have been commercially harvested or on fields where it is not economically profitable to harvest.”
Wikipedia

3. Gleaning Today
Linking underutilized food resources with people willing to tend and harvest, for example:
You have a pear tree, no time to tend or harvest
A gleaner maintains the tree and harvests the fruit when its ready
You would get a share of the harvest, the rest goes to gleaner for consumption, sale, or donation
Leah, transitionashland.org

4. Klamath Falls
There are opportunities to provide fresh foods to those who need it most, including:
Community and home gardens: ‘grow a row/bed/garden for the hungry’
Privately owned fruit trees with “too much fruit”
Foraging: wild/public sources for fruits, nuts, berries
Rotary production garden
Grocery stores and restaurants?

5. How do we do it?
A brand new project requires a large time commitment, expertise and resources
Several local groups already have food gathering and distribution efforts in place that we might leverage
The intent is to ‘capture’ foods we see going to waste.
The first project could be local, privately owned fruit trees.

6. Considerations Someone must take charge and drive:
Identifying purpose and scope of the project
Defining who would get the food and how
And all the details in between:
How to gather (and who, when, and where) – what will really be happening on the ground?
Organization of the project and group
Processing, distribution, accountability, publicity, celebration
Sustainability – how to build it so it lasts

7. Should we do it alone?
Possibility: work jointly with one or more organizations, using their existing programs
Easier than setting up a brand new project
In the future, splitting off might be worth pursuing
Would organizations welcome our contributions?
Most food-oriented groups and people like at least something about gleaning, but
They may not be open to incorporating the idea of harvesting local private foods into their program

8. The goal is the FOOD!
We want to avoid food waste and help people , not “reinvent the wheel”
How “partnered” do we want to be? We could:
Spend time, energy and resources to establish a separate group linked with multiple organizations, or
Become a ‘sub-group’ within an established one
Challenge with working within an established group:
That group decides what to harvest or glean
Not certain we could still get produce from private fruit trees and gardens

9. Proposal: the FOOD and the People
Recommendation: we connect with an existing organization and offer our services
We’d want to be clear in our intentions and make them known/supported
Alternative:
Set up harvest/gleaning program and then utilize an existing group’s distribution chain.

10. What’s Involved? Just a lot.
Harvesting logistics
What we can harvest? What happens to the harvest?
Connecting with the community
Recruiting owners and harvesters, training, communicating, mobilizing
Getting the harvest done
Tools, supplies, insurance, transportation, follow-up
After the harvest
Distribution, processing, disposal/composting
Partnership logistics
Point of contact for each stage of the harvest
Policy, coordination, overall communication and oversight

11. Anyone, anyone? Everyone’s time is valuable and limited
The choice to drive this program is not a small one
Keeping momentum seems important
What can happen now without a huge commitment?
Collecting contacts and resources (other programs, interest list)
What can happen later, if/when resources open up?
Communicating, researching, designing an inaugural program
Can start very small, and focus on later-season harvesting
Almost “proof of concept” size
Would include learning any partners’ processes
Revisiting, redesigning in the winter for yearly incremental success and design improvement

12. Examples and Potential Partners
Klamath-Lake Counties Food Bank
Food assistance for thousands
Rotary First Harvest
Maintains production garden in Klamath Falls
Society of St. Andrew
Maintains national gleaning network; motto: “Gleaning America's Fields ~ Feeding America's Hungry”
Ashland Food Angels
Gets food from markets, bakeries, and farmers; works cooperatively with other organizations