Gorge Gleaning increases food security

When a glean opens, the sign-up form goes out — and you have to be quick about it because spots fill up fast. Volunteers are sent the address the day of the glean and spend a few hours picking fruit or vegetables. The produce is then weighed, and volunteers are able to keep up to half what they picked. Gorge Gleaning has a relationship with several orchards and private gardens they harvest each year, but they are looking for more.

“We haven’t had as many gleans as we could be having,” said Peter Fink, a gleaning coordinator.

As of Sept. 17th, they have harvested 23,188 pounds of various fruits and vegetables, hosted 23 gleans and engaged 236 volunteers in 397 hours of work. They've donated 21,908 pounds of food. 

Last year, they donated almost 10,000 pounds of food to local food banks a large and volunteers took home roughly 2,000 pounds. “The last few years, we’ve definitely increased. That’s because we’ve had more dedicated time as staff, and … more [gleaning] opportunities,” said Fink, comparing recent numbers to the 6,000 pounds donated in 2021.  

The rest of the food is donated to the food bank where people then have access to fresh, seasonal produce. Last year, Gorge Gleaning teamed up with Muirhead cannery — one of the last family-owned small-scale canneries in the Northwest — to keep some fruit for the winter stores as well. They canned more than 800 pounds of cherries and donated them to Washington Gorge Action Program (WAGAP) and Columbia Gorge Food Bank, covering both sides of the river.

“People were receiving cherries picked locally in Hood River, canned in The Dalles and then distributed throughout the Wasco, Sherman, and Hood River counties to folks that are facing food insecurity, and the whole process stayed right here in the Gorge,” said Fink. This year, Gorge Gleaning and Muirhead are discussing teaming up again for pear season.

Gorge Gleaning is looking for more farms and gardens that want to participate in the gleaning program.

“If you are a homeowner that has fruit trees in your backyard, or maybe a big trellis of grapes, maybe it’s a giant garden of tomatoes that is way more than you can harvest. Or if you’re a farmer that has a crop that maybe doesn’t look good enough to sell or is maybe too undersized, whatever it may be, invite us out,” said Fink. “We’ll bring a group of volunteers that are trained in how to safely, effectively pick the fruit, and then we’ll be able to bring it to more folks in the community and helping foster increase food security in the Gorge.”

To contact them about gleaning opportunities, email gleaning@gorgegrown.com and visit/gorgegrown.com/gorgegleaning for further information and to fill out both the volunteer application and crop donation form.