Merrymeeting Gleaners Winter Updates

All of the numbers are in for 2019 gleaning. It was a very successful year! Here are the stats:

50,880 pounds donated

31 farms and food producers

35 recipient organizations

6 sharing tables

126 volunteers

15 towns served

All of these numbers are up from last year. Whether you were growing the produce, gleaning, delivering, processing, helping with administrative tasks, representing us at events or cheering us on and helping to spread the word - THANK YOU! 

Since we began in 2016, we have distributed 136,692 lbs of fresh produce! Thank you to our incredible farm partners for your generosity.

We can't wait to see what 2020 brings!

Projects:

  • Know Your Veggies: Developed by Merrymeeting Gleaners and SNAP-ED, this booklet is a tool to help people receiving gleaned produce to know how to identify it, store it, cook it, etc. The booklet has been distributed to the organizations that receive the produce. It is also available for free to download on our website. Plans for printing and distribution are in the works.

  • Sharing Tables: The Sharing Tables are unmanned tables of freshly gleaned produce set out in a public space like a library or town office. The produce is available for anyone that needs it, with no income restrictions. Sharing Tables ended in the late Fall, but will resume again during the 2020 growing season in: Arrowsic, Bath, Brunswick, Bowdoin, Harpswell, and Topsham.

  • Gleaning: In 2019 Merrymeeting Gleaners continued their work of increasing access to healthy local food and reducing on-farm food waste. They accomplished this by gleaning produce from over 2 dozen farms in the fields and at farmers markets. The gleaners donated 50,880 pounds to 35 organizations. In July of 2019 the gleaners reached a milestone of donating 100,000 pounds since their inception in 2016.

  • Processing: This year the gleaners were fortunate to receive a donated chest freezer, which is being stored at Maritime Apartments in Bath. This allowed the gleaners to experiment with food processing and storage. In October, Master Food Preservers from UMaine Cooperative Extension and gleaners blanched and froze about 300 pounds of carrots. The carrots are stored in the chest freezer and will be distributed throughout the winter when there is not as much fresh produce. The gleaners hope to do more of this type of processing as a way to stretch the fall harvest and supplement the winter distribution.

  • In addition to freezing produce, the gleaners also piloted a bone broth project. Apple Creek Farm donated lamb and goat bones which the gleaners had processed into two types of bone broth at Turtle Rock Farm. The bone broth was donated to People Plus and Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program. Feedback from both organizations is being collected to guide future processing efforts.

Gleaning at Six River Farm

Gleaning at Six River Farm

Know Your Veggies!

Know Your Veggies!

Sharing Table outside the Harpswell Town Office

Sharing Table outside the Harpswell Town Office

Processing Carrots at MCHPP

Processing Carrots at MCHPP

First Bone Broth!

First Bone Broth!

Connections/Outreach:

  • The Merrymeeting Gleaners share all materials and documents created and findings from our work with statewide partners through the Maine Gleaning Network as well as at statewide food system gatherings and conferences.

Action Items:

  • Organizations interested in receiving gleaned produce and farms interested in donating produce can contact Kelly.

  • Volunteers interested in gleaning or distributing food can contact Kelly and she will send you the links to sign up. Please spread this info to any potential volunteers!