Let’s Glean!

United We Serve TOOLKIT

Contents

I. Introduction to Gleaning...........................Page 2

II. How To Start a Gleaning Program ..........Page 2

III. Gleaning and United We Serve................Page 6

IV. Sources for Further Information.............Page 8
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I. Introduction

What Is Gleaning?

Gleaning is simply the act of collecting excess fresh 

foods from farms, gardens, farmers markets, grocers, 

restaurants, state/county fairs, or any other sources in 

order to provide it to those in need. 

Why Glean

“Some of the foods we receive [from gleaning] are 

things that would otherwise be too expensive to 

buy...One of the great benefits of working with 

farmers markets is getting fresh fruits and veggies 

that are healthy.” 

 – Staff Member at the DC Central Kitchen, a non-profit organization in 

Washington, DC, which regularly takes surplus food and cooks it into 

4,500 meals for the hungry each day.

Each year, well over 100 billion pounds of food are 

thrown away in this countryi. Some estimates from 2009 

indicate that up to 20 percent of America’s entire food 

supply goes to waste. At the same time there are 49 million people, including more than 16 million children, who 

are at risk of going hungry. Gleaning – the practice of collecting and donating excess foods – helps simultaneously 

address these pressing issues. Importantly, it also gives 

low-income individuals access to fresh and locally grown 

foods that are not always available in their communities. 

In fact, more than 23 million Americans, including 6.5 million children, live in low-income urban and rural neighborhoods that are known “food deserts,” where affordable, 

quality, and nutritious foods are inaccessible. 

In addition, because gleaning requires effort from 

and coordination between many different individuals 

(volunteers with community groups, gardeners and/or 

farmers, agencies that serve the hungry, etc.), it helps 

foster strong local community food systems. Furthermore, it provides vital resources to nonprofits who 

serve food to those in need, many of which have experienced severe cutbacks during the economic downturn. 

II. How To Start a 

Gleaning Program

Find Donors 

n You can find a farmers market near you and 

contact the manager of the market and individual vendors by using The National Farmers 

Market Search Engine. 

n You can find a community garden in your area 

which might be interested in sharing its harvest 

using the American Community Garden Association database and/or by searching the national 

network of USDA People’s Gardens. 

n In order to directly reach out to farmers in your 

area, the best way to find them is to contact 

your state’s USDA office. You could also contact 

your State Department of Agriculture. 

Gleaned fresh breads in a soup kitchen to be served the following day.
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n If you would like to directly contact farmers, it is 

best to get in touch with them during non-harvest months, when they will be a bit less busy 

and have more time to consider playing a role in 

a gleaning programiii. 

Find a Food Bank, Pantry, or Soup 

Kitchen That Accepts Fresh Foods

All food banks, soup kitchens, pantries, and other organizations that feed the hungry are happy to receive donations, especially high-quality, fresh food. However, not 

every organization has the capacity to accept such fresh 

donations (which require refrigeration, a well-equipped 

kitchen manned regularly by staff who can prepare the 

food while it is still fresh, etc.). 

If you don’t already have an established relationship 

with a nearby food bank, soup kitchen, faith-based or 

other community organization that has the capacity to 

accept fresh food donations, you can visit AmpleHarvest.

org or Feeding America to find one near you. 

n Also consider visiting nearby restaurants, supermarkets (corporate or small businesses), and 

any other food sellers and distributors to see 

if they might be interested in donating quality 

excess food for a gleaning program. One incentive 

you can mention is that efforts to directly benefit 

the community would yield a great publicity opportunity for their business. 

Convince Potential Donors To Get 

Involved

n All potential donors (whether they are gardeners, farmers market managers, restaurant owners, etc.) should be notified of the Bill Emerson 

Good Samaritan Act. This piece of legislation, 

which was passed by Congress in 1996, removes 

all liability in regard to food donations from 

donors if they take necessary precautions to 

ensure the safety of the food. If, for whatever 

reason, a donation was given by someone who 

understood it to be in good condition, but that 

food later posed a health hazard, the donor 

would not be held responsible. 

n Donors should also be notified that their food 

donations can be tax exempt. Well-developed 

gleaning programs immediately weigh donations, 

and donors are given a receipt documenting the 

transaction for tax purposes or otherwise. 

ii
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At a Glance: The Benefits of Gleaning 

n Prevents the unnecessary wasting of 

quality food.

n Provides access to fresh, nutritious foods 

for low-income populations, who are often 

unable to buy healthy, local foods because of 

cost or availability.

n Provides resources to nonprofit agencies, 

many of whom have shrinking staff capacity 

and budgets due to the economic climate, so 

that they might better serve those in need.

n Builds good relations between community 

members, local gardeners, and farmers.

SUCCESS STORY

In the city of Lane, Oklahoma, employees at the 

South Central Agricultural Research Laboratory 

came together last year with the Choctaw Nation 

of Oklahoma to start a community garden. Now, 

their harvest is thriving and they have begun sharing 

the bounty. In the month of June alone, they donated 

a remarkable 2,100 pounds of fresh produce to feed 

those in need! 

Recruit Volunteers

Here are some tips on building a gleaning team to help 

make your program a success:

n Post your service activity on Serve.gov to 

recruit new volunteers. 

n Invite prospective volunteers to a house meeting 

or potluck where you, as a group, can begin 

brainstorming and setting goals for your project. 

n Conduct a volunteer survey so you are well 

aware not only of individuals’ availabilities, but 

also their interests and skills which may be utilized to strengthen the impact of your gleaning 

program. 

n Remind volunteers of relevant basic safety and 

food handling protocol.

n Seek volunteers who will be able to commit 

regularly to gleaning activities (as opposed to 

people with one-time availability), so that they 

are able to build positive relationships with the 

donors over time. This can help ensure the 

program’s long-term success.

Prepare for Your First Glean

n Set measurable goals at the outset and track 

your progress throughout the project.

n Obtain sturdy crates, boxes, or other containers 

to be used consistently for gleaning. 

n Be sure to confirm with the farmer(s), market, 

grocer, or other donor the following information:

n Exact time and location for your arrival

n How the donated foods will be identified

n Estimated number of boxes or crates to 

hold all donations

n Where vehicles should be parked

n If you are having volunteers drive to transport 

the donations, consider giving them mileage 

reimbursement if possible, or notify them of 

the possibility of writing off travel expenses as a 

charitable contribution on their personal taxes.

Produce from the USDA People’s Garden in Washington, D.C. ready to be harvested 

for donation. (USDA photo 10di1383-17)
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n Most of all, invest in cultivating relationships between donors and gleaners. This will lead to an 

efficient program which produces the greatest 

possible impact on a community. 

Make the Program Sustainable 

Be sure to keep good records of all the activities you 

and other volunteer gleaners perform (amounts of donations; contact information for donors, receivers, and 

volunteers; and any other pertinent information). It will 

be very helpful to have this information if you decide to 

revive your gleaning program the following year, and if 

you decide to seek out any grant funding to extend the 

program’s reach and impact! 

Also, be sure to write about your experiences and 

post on Serve.gov to help inspire others and share best 

practices. 

III. Gleaning and United 

We Serve 

This summer, farmers, gardeners, market managers, and 

volunteers can expand their impact in communities by 

connecting with the President’s United We Serve initiative. This national call to service began last year to help 

meet growing social needs resulting from the economic 

downturn. The Serve.gov website was created as an 

online guide for this initiative where individuals can read 

inspiring stories of service, learn more about volunteer 

opportunities, and create their own impactful projects. 

Hundreds of thousands of prospective volunteers visit 

the site each summer. 

In previous years, gleaning was typically done on 

farms and was an opportunity only available to those in 

rural areas. However, with the increase in farmers markets, more Americans can get involved in this important 

activity and simultaneously develop relationships with 

local producers by gleaning at farmers markets. Last 

year alone, the number of farmers markets nationwide 

Maintain a Positive Relationship 

Between Donors and Gleaners

(This advice is adapted from Steve Badt of Miriam’s Kitchen, an organization which 

annually prepares more than 55,000 healthy meals for the homeless and receives 

gleaned produce from the Foggy Bottom Farmers Market in Washington, D.C. Gleaning at the market saved the Kitchen about $15,000 last year alone.) 

n Respect the produce. Farmers may get frustrated when gleaners damage or treat carelessly 

the fruits of their labor which they have chosen 

to donate.

n It is much better to have volunteers, rather than 

hired staff, do the actual gleaning. Volunteers 

participate because they care about fresh produce and farmers, and their passion for this type 

of work will be seen by others, helping inspire 

those around them and making the program a 

success.

n Consider regularly bringing cold/hot drinks 

(depending on the season) or some other small 

token as a gesture to thank farmers or other 

donors for their efforts. This costs very little in 

time and money, but can lead to more donations 

and much better relations over the long term. 

n Be sure to have volunteers arrive on time (or a 

bit early!) so they are able to greet the donors 

and learn about the appropriate gleaning procedures. 

n Clearly label crates or other containers for the 

donations, and consult the donors to see what 

the preferred method of collection will be (e.g., 

leaving a few crates in a certain location and 

then picking them up, volunteers going individually to each donation site, etc.)

n If you are gleaning at the close of a farmers 

market, be sure not to rush the farmers when 

seeking donations, especially if they have had a 

long day. 

n Create volunteer teams that may rotate but 

participate regularly so they build relationships 

with the farmers. 
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Also, for prospective market managers who would 

like to start a gleaning program at their markets, it 

is worth noting that a significant number of markets 

across the country have already established gleaning programs. According to the 2006 Farmers Market 

Survey, 23.9 percent of all markets across the country 

are already involved in gleaning. Therefore, they would 

not be alone in their efforts and can utilize networks of 

market managers (such as the Farmers Market Coalition) to learn from and share best practices with others. One success comes from a sophisticated effort in 

Bloomington, IN, which began in 2002 and has flourished 

into a partnership with several businesses and community groups. Last year, thanks to these efforts, over 28,000 

pounds were donated to the Hoosier Hills Food Bank 

to feed those in need. 

IV. Sources for Further 

Information

If you have any questions about gleaning, please contact 

the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at USDA, which compiled this toolkit, by emailing 

collaborate@usda.gov or calling 202-720-2032.

Society of St. Andrew

The Society of St. Andrew is a grassroots, faith-based, 

hunger relief nonprofit organization working with all 

denominations to bridge the hunger gap between the 

billions of pounds of food wasted every year in this 

country and the millions of Americans who live in poverty. For over 30 years, they have worked with donors, 

volunteers, and farmers to glean nutritious excess produce from fields and orchards after harvest and deliver 

it to people in need across the United States. 

increased by 13 percent from the year before. Estimates 

now indicate that there are nearly 6,000 markets across 

the country. Serve.gov can help connect both emerging 

and well-established markets with volunteers so that 

many individual efforts can be synchronized to have a 

unified, positive impact. 

Many farmers markets, of course, could not operate without the consistent commitment of passionate 

volunteers. Farmers market managers can utilize Serve.

gov to find volunteers to help establish or expand a 

gleaning program. Any market manager can create a 

simple post on the site and find additional volunteers to 

fill a wide variety of needs at their market. In addition 

to helping with a gleaning program, market managers 

might also want volunteer assistance to perform community outreach, help equip vendors to accept SNAP/

EBT nutrition benefits – formerly known as food stamps 

– or for other tasks. Just like market vendors, individuals who would like to spearhead a gleaning program can 

also make posts on the website to get others involved in 

their initiative. 
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Farmers Market Coalition 

The Farmers Market Coalition is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit 

organization, which began in 2006 in order to provide 

educational resources and professional development 

opportunities for farmers markets across the country. 

It has 300 member organizations, representing roughly 

2,800 markets (or 21,000 farmers who sell their produce to their communities). Its Resource Library offers 

a wide variety of information for farmers, market managers, market researchers, and organizations sponsoring 

or looking to start farmers markets.

“Plant a Row for the Hungry” Campaign 

From the Garden Writers Association 

Plant A Row for the Hungry is a public service program 

of the Garden Writers Association. Garden writers 

are asked to encourage their readers/listeners to plant 

an extra row of produce each year and donate their 

surplus to local food banks, soup kitchens, and service 

organizations to help feed America’s hungry. There are 

over 84 million households with a yard or garden in 

the United States. If every gardener plants one extra 

row of vegetables and donates the surplus to local food 

agencies and soup kitchens, a significant impact can be 

made on reducing hunger. Since the program launch in 

1995, American gardeners have donated over 14 million 

pounds of herbs and vegetables to feed the hungry in 

their local neighborhoods.

Feeding America

Feeding America is a national network made up of local 

food banks, individuals, national offices, and corporate 

and government partners, all working together to combat hunger in the United States. The organization provides grants to local food banks, secures food donations 

from corporate sponsors, works to standardize services 

across food banks, and does advocacy on behalf of the 

people they serve.

Ample Harvest

Ample Harvest is a nationwide effort to educate, encourage, and enable gardeners with extra produce to 

easily donate to a local food pantry. AmpleHarvest.org 

gives food pantries the opportunity to be listed in a central nationwide directory so that gardeners can share 

their fresh produce and, garden-by-garden, help diminish 

hunger in America.

USDA Citizen’s Guide to Food Recovery

This guide, made during the 1990s when a Gleaning 

Program was active at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, provides extensive information about the topic, 

including an introduction to food recovery, highlights of 

successful programs, USDA connections to such efforts, descriptions of the role of various different actors 

(businesses, nonprofits, youth organizations, etc.), safety 

and legal issues, and a feature on a summer of gleaning 

AmeriCorps effort.

Farmers Markets Homepage from USDA 

Agricultural Marketing Service

This website offers several useful resources regarding 

farmers markets including: the National Farmers Market 

Search Engine, National Farmers Market Survey, facts 

and statistics about growth in the industry, advice on 

how to start your own farmers market, and more. 
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Best Practices for Food Recovery and Gleaning

in the National School Lunch Program

This report highlights the experiences of 12 nationwide 

school districts that received funds in July 1998 from 

USDA through one-year Food Recovery Cooperative 

Agreements. This manual describes how the school 

districts used their USDA funds to help them recover 

food from their cafeterias and donate it to the needy. 

It addresses how school food service staff developed 

systems to recover, store, and donate the recovered 

food. It explains how partnerships were formed with local nonprofit agencies in the community, and how school 

districts were able to identify and overcome obstacles 

to developing a school-based food recovery program. 

Finally, it shows how students can take an active role 

in this effort, and how food recovery can be integrated 

into curriculum.

The Wholesome Wave Foundation

The mission of Wholesome Wave is to nourish neighborhoods by supporting increased production and access to healthy, fresh, and affordable locally grown food 

for the well-being of all. This site provides instruction for 

those who would like to help provide access to healthy, 

fresh foods to lower income populations but are unable 

to start up a gleaning program. The foundation provides 

other methods of accomplishing this goal through collaboration between people on the ground, Federal and 

State agencies, and private funders. One highlight of 

the website is a map which illustrates partnering markets which have the capacity not only to accept SNAP 

benefits (formerly known as food stamps), but also to 

double their value.

Footnotes

i

See a New York Times article from May 18, 2008, entitled, “One Country’s Table Scraps, Another Country’s Meal” 

for an illustrated graphic of the amount of food an American family wastes each month: 

“One Country’s Table Scraps, Another Country’s Meal”

iiAll photos in this document, except cover photo and photo on page 4, were taken by Nada Zohdy, Truman Fellow at the 

USDA Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

iiiThis and other pieces of advice come from Food for People’s guide, “How to Start a Gleaning Program at Your Food 

Bank.” March 2009. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, 

color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual 

orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual’s income is derived from 

any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s 

TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination write to USDA, Director, Office 

of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or 

(202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.