It is simply left over after harvest for various market reasons. Fortunately God's instruction about gleaning is a low cost and effective way to bridge this gap. The Gleaning Network is a project of the Society of St. Andrew which coordinates volunteers, growers, and distribution agencies to salvage food for the needy. Each year, some 20,000 volunteers from churches, synagogues, scout troops, senior citizen groups, and others participate in Society of St. Andrew gleaning activities and salvage over six million pounds of produce for the poor. Millions of pounds of perfectly good food that would otherwise go to waste are given to the nation's poor at no cost to them.
People working together gleaning farmers' fields helps to strengthen community.
Recipients of the food can also take part in gleaning. To volunteer to glean, follow this link .