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In keeping with our motto “service above self”, Batavia Rotary has an innovative program to help bring food to people who are hungry. Working with the Salvation Army and LBrooke Farms, the club's goal is to salvage some of the food being wasted in our county while providing food for our neighbors in need.A major area of food waste in America is in farmers’ fields, where good crops are plowed under for various reasons. A field may be bypassed due to capacity restrictions at the processing plant, or produce might simply be missed in the harvesting process. Either way, good food goes to waste.
Gleaning goes back to biblical times; it simply means gathering crops that would otherwise be left in the fields after the harvest is complete. When a field is ready to be gleaned, Rotarians and friends pick and transport the produce. L-Brooke Farms has been a gracious partner, informing us of fields that are ready, allowing us access to the unharvested crops and waiting until we have gleaned to plow the fields under.
In 2020, when the program started, we gleaned beets and carrots, collecting approximately 17 bushels of each type of vegetable. In 2021 we have started with beets at the end of August, collecting more than 24 bushels that were donated to Salvation Army. Some beets were also collected for Meals on Wheels, enabling participants of that program to enjoy fresh, local produce in their meals! We plan to do more this fall, as more produce is available. We know we have only scratched the surface of what could be done with this program; much more could be done!