This season saw a pretty good crop of sweet corn in Illinois. It was another example of USDA's latest efforts to support gleaning across the country. He noted that, in the past two years, the Mason County gleaning project has recovered and distributed over 39,000 pounds of fresh produce to needy families in central Illinois. It seemed such a waste to throw out wholesome product, so we check with the processor who okays the donation, then call the shelter and they pick up the food. Lab employees counsel the shelter staff on safe handling of recovered food to ensure that food that is safe when it leaves the lab is safe when it's served to those in need.
Volunteers can keep any produce their families can use.
Then the surplus produce is picked up fresh in the fields for distribution to area food banks and hot meal sites. Extension personnel encourage farmers to allow gleaners on the fields, and they conduct classes for volunteers in gardening, food preservation, nutrition, and food shopping. The profiles above are just a few of the dozens of gleaning and food recovery projects across the country in which USDA employees are involved.