At Bahr Farm in College Hill, Sue Plummer is showing a couple of volunteers how to harvest greens. She kneels in front of a row of kale, picks up an asymmetrical knife, and starts hacking at one of the plant’s stems.
Plummer is the Ohio program coordinator for the Society of St. Andrew, a national hunger relief nonprofit. She’s at the farm today to do some gleaning.
“The oldest references that anybody knows of are in the Hebrew Bible,” Plummer said. “It was Jewish law for farmers to not harvest the corners of their field, and let the widowed, poor, and orphaned come and harvest it.”
The Society of St. Andrew is using the ancient practice of gleaning to feed the hungry and reduce food waste. But, there are some differences in its modern application.
Farmers invite volunteers, rather than the widowed, poor, or orphaned, onto their farms. The volunteers then harvest excess food, and not only from corners of the fields.
“We ... have the time to come in and get that food and get it to people who need it, who can't afford to buy it,” Plummer said. “We share it with food pantries, soup kitchens, institutional kitchens, and organizations like LaSoupe or Food for the Soul. We just get it redistributed right away.”
Excess food on farms
Plummer has partnerships with farmers throughout Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. Some call her with just a few days’ notice that they have crops they won't be able to harvest and sell. Others, like Our Harvest Cooperative, let Plummer and her volunteers glean every week.
The worker-owned farm grows produce like chard, peppers, and potatoes to sell locally. Farm manager Stephen Dienger says its biggest outlet is CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture.
But, sometimes, Our Harvest grows more than it has a market for, and, more than the 11-person staff has time to harvest.
It’s not the only farm to face these problems. The World Wildlife Fund reports about 16% of U.S. food waste occurs on farms.
“We've put all this time and effort into it — and love and care — and we don't want it to be just tilled under,” Dienger said. “We want to see it get into someone's refrigerator and be able to be used.”
Dienger says the Society of St. Andrew helps Our Harvest bridge that gap between farm and fridge. The gleaners spend hours in the fields, peeling leaves off chard plants and cutting heads of kale from their thick stems.
He says the gleaners’ work is especially important this year. Our Harvest has lost some other outlets for selling its produce because of federal funding cuts to food assistance programs.
“We used to have three markets every year for the WIC markets. They cut it down to one because there's not enough funding,” Dienger said.
Sharing the bounty
After three hours at Bahr Farm, the gleaners harvested 316 pounds of organic greens.
They pile crates overflowing with produce into the bed of a tan pickup truck, and drive it to the Market at CAIN, a choice food pantry in Northside.
Pantry Manager Aileen Lawson says some of the greens will go straight into the market.
“The rest of it will be able to hold in our walk-in refrigerator, and it'll stay fresh until the next time we're open,” Lawson said.
She says fresh fruits and veggies are some of the most important items at the market.
“A lot of our guests have chronic health conditions like hypertension [or] diabetes, and they're very conscious and aware of how the food that they eat affects their bodies,” Lawson said. “A lot of our guests prioritize fruits, vegetables, lean meats, local produce, organic produce.”
She says produce is one of the most expensive products at the grocery store, making it a luxury for some.
Today's gleaning will feed more than 300 families for free.
Outside the market, Sue Plummer gathers up the now-empty crates and puts them back in her car.
“I'm tired, I'm soaked with sweat, but I feel good,” Plummer said. “I'm going to go home and take a nice shower.”
And she’ll do it all again tomorrow.
How to get involved
The Society of St. Andrew hosts weekly farm and farmers market gleanings throughout Greater Cincinnati during the harvest season.
You can sign up to volunteer online.
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