Completion of Project-Beginning of Phase II

As I approach the completion of what was outlined for this project, I see it has only just begun.  This last week, Wednesday September 18, 2013 I attended another of the quarterly Farm to School Planning Collaborative meetings.  As I mentioned before, many of the people who have been helping and supporting the idea that has become Gleaning Hands were in attendance. I was able to give a short report on what has transpired over the last few months and the plans I have for the next several.

Some of those plans are:
Build and launch the real website for www.gleaninghands.org
Begin to promote the Gleaning Hands Idea in the Local Community
Put together Press Releases and News Paper Articles for publication
Meet with a Business Attorney and ask all the legal questions
Decide on a business model and structure
Ask more questions
Keep spreading the word and beginning to put together a calender based on harvest times
Connect with others who glean and share thoughts and ideas.  Ask more questions.
Design a logo, letterhead and business cards
Ask more questions
Keep up with this blog until......letting the world know the process.

Always Keep the Mission and Vision in mind.

Vision: Rebuilding Community. Restoring Health.
Mission: Local community based volunteers connecting those who have with those who can to serve those who need.

Ask more questions.

I leave you with this.  It is the rough draft of a flyer/handout that can be passed around as a method of introducing the idea of Gleaning Hands.  All the standard information needs to be added such as mailing address, email, fax, phone, etc.  However, my original idea is to build a foundation and basic structure which will allow others to use and build on what has been created here and growing it to suit their own special community needs.  Organically.

Introducing

Gleaning Hands

A local, community based, group of volunteers

Connecting those who have, with those who can, to serve those who need.

What do we do with these Gleaning Hands of ours?

The volunteers of Gleaning Hands pick produce and garden crops that may otherwise go to ground or remain in the field unused.

What happens to the gleaned produce?

•           50% by weight of the gleaned fruit or produce is donated to the Julian School District Farm to School Collaborative.  The fresh fruits and vegetables go directly to the kids via the school lunch program. The donation of fresh local fruits and vegetables enhances the school lunches at no additional cost to the kids or the district.

•           25% by weight is given back to the homeowner or farmer for their own use.  If they wish, they can add their portion to the Farm to School Donation. 

•           The remaining 25% by weight will be split among the gleaning volunteers.  This will, in a small way, help those who help others by providing them with fresh, local produce to take home and use as they see fit. 

How can I get Gleaning Hands help at my home or Farm?

It’s easy.  You can make a request on our website, call our volunteer request line, or send us a request via e-mail or snail-mail.  You can ask for help for yourself or suggest a friend or a neighbor who may be in need of assistance.  One of our volunteers will call to confirm permission, set a date, and arrange for any special items needed to perform the gleaning safely and efficiently.

What if I know of someone in need but want to remain anonymous?

No problem!  Your secret is safe with us.  No one need know you sent us to help.  If you would like, your donation can be anonymous as well.

 I would like to be a volunteer.

Potential volunteers may sign up on the Gleaning Hands website, via email, or by calling and leaving a message on the volunteer line.  A member of Gleaning Hands will get back to you and discuss the requirements for becoming a volunteer with our group.  We would be grateful for your help.

We are Gleaning Hands.

Restoring Community. Rebuilding Health.

www.gleaninghands.org

And so, the dream continues........

Gleaning Quince

Most people don't have any idea what Quince are. While gathering some large apple crates to use as raised beds here at 5'Primal Farms, I was shown a Quince tree.  Its fruit have dropped to the ground and have rotted into compost for several years now.  I did a little research and found that Quince have many uses and come in many varieties.  There are some great websites with recipes and cooking instructions for quince. I found some YouTube videos as well.

Quince are high in pectin.  Pectin is the stuff that makes jams and jellies thicken and gel.  Often in the past, quince has been added to apples and pears to make them thicken better while making pies and other such stuff.  I also found instructions in an old cookbook of mine for extracting the pectin for use as a gelling agent with other fruits and berries.  I will scan and upload that info at a later date after I give it a try.

This week, we were given permission to glean the Quince tree.  Below are the Still shots from our glean.  I will follow these gleaning posts with photos and recipes on the In The Kitchen page of this blog in a couple of weeks.  Quince store long term in a cool, dry place.

As you will see in the video of the Quince glean, we put all the rotting fruit into a seperate bucket.  We also cleaned up the grounded apples around the trees near by.  After the glean, I took the rotting fruit to Cook Pigs Ranch just outside of town to be fed to their happy, muddy, outside pigs.  You can check out Cook Pig Ranch at www.cookpigs.com.

Here is a link to a wonderful article on Quince I found while researching this interesting fruit. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120288799

Gleaning Quince Video 2

Gleaning Quince Vidoe1

Donations to Gleaning Hands

Over the last couple of weeks we have been given donations by several people who have picked their own trees and have too much produce to use themselves.  Word has gotten around that people can call me and I will get their excess to Jeremy's on the Hill, or Jeremy's on Campus as the lunch program is being called now.
We have received several bags of Anjou Pears from one donor.  Six half bushels of plums from another generous donor.  And offers of apples coming in the near future. I am so thankful to be able to be a connection getting fruit that would otherwise be unwanted to the kids who would otherwise not have access to fresh produce in such abundance.

In addition, I have received voice mail messages from friends and neighbors around town offering phone numbers and names of neighbors with trees and bushes of fruits, nuts and berries that go unpicked every year.  All this is serious motivation to get working on the website over the winter and actually bring this project online in time for spring of next year.

I am currently thinking through how best to structure this project.  Several ideas.  Even though this could lend itself to becoming a 501c3 charitable organization, I'm not sure that is the best way to go.  I would like to see this operate as a profitable business allowing the support of not only me, but others who could one day work for Gleaning Hands.  I also would like to be as free from government regulation as possible.  There is much regulation that comes with that 501c3 designation.

I would like to see folks donating because it the right thing to do for their community not just to get a tax deduction.  I would like people to volunteer because they can subsidize their groceries with fresh produce through their own sweat and work not just to volunteer because it looks good to their friends and neighbors. I would love to see people volunteering and turning their portions into other items that could then be sold to help benefit them financially and to help support their families.  So many possibilities.

If you don't like your job, go out an make one of your own!

Second Glean-Porter Homestead

Second Glean Stills-Porter Homestead

On September 7, 2013 I received a call from the Porters asking if we would like to come pick pears and grapes.  No one else was available on short notice so I went myself.  Here are the still photos of this glean.  Video to follow.

Bartlett Pears

40 years of Growth

Red Bartlett Pears

Grapes of unknown variety 

Just a side note.  I helped plant these trees when I was 9 years old.  That makes them around 43 years old. You do the math.

First Glean De-Brief

Gleaning Hands is moving along nicely.  People have begun calling me, stopping me on the street, sending me emails about gleaning information and websites they have found, letting me know how much they how much they appreciate what Gleaning Hands is doing.  Offers of fruit and opportunities to glean are coming in almost daily.  It is apparent there is more food available right now than the small band of volunteers I have put together can gather.  That's a good thing!

I thought I would give an update on all the interesting things we have learned so far.  These things are subject to change.  Legal issues may play a part in that.  Before bringing this project online to the real world, these legalities will need to be addressed with real legal people.

1.) Note to Self: Write out a video release and ask the homeowner or Farmer for permission to take pictures and/or Video of the glean.
2.) Clarify whether or not the homeowner or Farmer wants to be identified or if the donation and location is to remain private.  Honor that decision and notify all volunteers of the choice.
3.) If the home or farm is to remain private be sure to have all cameras and video recorders safely stowed in the vehicle(s).  Honor the Giver's Wishes!
4.) Don't rotate the video camera while taking video.  You can't fix it.
5.) Make sure everyone gets a chance to shoot video if you only have one camera.  That way everyone gets on record and there will be different perspectives.
6.) Encourage volunteers to take pictures and shoot video provided documentation is allowed.  Encourage sharing that video in order to spread the word about the project and the mission.
7.) Need releases for the volunteers.
8.) Check with lawyers about liability for the following:
      a. A volunteer gets injured
      b. A homeowner is unhappy
      c.  A volunteer turns out to be well, not a nice person.
      d. Something gets broken
      e. Someone gets sick from eating something we donate (look up the law in your state)
9.) Different fruits and veggies need different types of boxes
10.) What do you do when there is just too much fruit or produce? Look in to and ask if it is alright to sell some of it at a local Farmers Market or Produce Stand.
11.) Do you use ladders or do you use only poles to glean.Some groups actually spread out sheets and shake the trees.
12.) Always remember to pick up the ground fruit first.  Take a separate container for that and have a plan to get rid of it.  Animals love it so hook up with a local rancher and donate the spoiled fruit.  Build the relationship and work to trade for meat.  That would be awesome!

There are many other fleeting thoughts that run through my head while working on a glean.  This is by no means a how-to.  Just some thoughts that have come up while working through this process.

Sunday Stirs the pot!

Jeremy Receives our First Glean

First Glean delivery to Jeremy's on the Hill

First Glean Garden Overview

First Glean Video 3

First Glean Video 2

First Glean Video View of the Garden

Gleaning with Ben, Devi, Jamie & Annie Dog.

First Glean September 5, 2013

Much has happened over the few months since the idea of Gleaning Hands began.  Planning, meeting, writing, discussing, meeting new people.  Once this idea was shared with others around my community, it began to take on a life of its own.  I had no idea there exists so many generous people, so much bounty, so many willing to lend a hand.  This is what the dream is all about.  Here are the photos from our first glean. The homeowner was not available to give permission to post their name or location so we will call it First Glean.

These are beautiful Anaheim Chilies.  

We were not able to pick any of these, but they sure are pretty!

My friend's daughter loves chickens! She has several at her house.  

                                                 

 We think these are Pluots, not sure.                     

We were able to glean some beautiful tomatoes and some green beans.  We took the gleanings to Chef Jeremy at Jeremy's on the Hill for use in tomorrow's school lunchs.  To see videos of this glean and just how beautiful this garden truly is, go to the YouTube channel for Gleaning Hands at 

Here is a link to one of the videos on that channel from today.

http://youtu.be/LH4GV6jAZIY

Gleaning Hands-The Journey So Far

Gleaning Hands began as a project to satisfy my Urban Farming Externship requirement through Southwest Institute of Healing Arts in Tempe, AZ.  The dream began one morning while I was running in a community near my home.  It has grown into a big dream with even bigger implications for my community, my country and my world.

As I ran along the quiet country road that morning, I was thinking about all the changes I had been making in my own life.  The biggest change was my diet.  I had slowly changed the foods I ate from those purchased at a big name grocery store to foods sourced locally and organically.  No longer did my cupboards contain boxes, bags and cans with brand names and multiple ingredients.  Now there were jars and containers with single ingredient foods.  My freezer contained bags of frozen produce sourced locally and saved for use later in the year, locally raised and harvested grass-fed meat, broth made from the bones of  the beef and organic free range chickens, wild caught fish right out of the ocean off San Diego, and pork from a local Pig ranch called Cook Pigs.  In short, I had a bunch of Real Food hanging out in my pantry and freezers.

What was really on my mind, however, was how I could continue purchasing all this local real food.  In my previous life I had worked in the Floorcovering Industry.  I was an Interior Designer and made my living as an outside commissioned sales person for many years.  After the economy crashed in 2008, my income crashed too.  I took a job locally managing a pie shop and restaurant.  Not my dream job but it paid the bills and I was able to walk to work. My daughter had two years of high school left and she wanted to finish school here, with her friends. So, I did what I had to do knowing it wasn't forever.  It was then that I decided to change careers.  I began studying Holistic Health & Nutrition at SWIHA.  I was following my passion.  Just after my daughter graduated high school I was laid off from my management job at the restaurant.  I took a part time job at a new gym that had opened in town and begun collecting unemployment from my previous job.  Taking full time classes and working part time was perfect for a year.  But, it wouldn't last as I knew unemployment would soon end.  And, end it did in September of 2012. With  no unemployment I was facing a serious shortage of cash.  I had been looking for full time work, but had found nothing that would cover my expenses.  I took another part time job in town and did my best to tighten my financial belt once again.  There wasn't much left to cut. I began by reassessing my priorities and tossing out everything else.  That list got very small.

Eating real food is a priority for me.  In the last year I had lost over 50 pounds and had regained my health.  I was running, three miles from home, and I was happy for the first time in a long time.  My concern was for my new way of living.  I know if I'm not healthy, not to mention having no health insurance, I would have a much more difficult time changing my circumstances.  My health care plan is the plan I make to care for my own health.  But,  how would I afford to maintain my healthy lifestyle and take care of my financial obligations on less than a poverty level income? How could I buck the system? First things first, get up, get out of the house and run.

On my run I was thinking about my Great Grand Parents.  They lived well on very little.  If they could do it, so could I. I began to reminisce about the memories I had of them and of my time with them when I was young.  They bartered, they shared, they grew their own food.  I could do that.  I needed to make contact with others willing to do the same.  Note to self.

I rounded a corner and saw a lone pear tree in the distance. I identified with that tree.  The tree was in the middle of a field, loaded with pears.  The pears were ripe and falling to the ground.  Just like me, I thought, alone with so much to give and not knowing how exactly to do that.  How did that tree come to be all alone in the middle of that field? Who did it belong to? Look at all that food going to the animals that could be used to feed those who needed fresh nutrient dense food in our community.  Heck, that's me I thought!

I began noticing more and more of these trees, bushes and vines along my way.  For the first time I began to notice just how much food there was all around.  Most of it being left for the animals instead of being used for people.  That's when the dream began.

What if I could contact the owners of these trees and see if I could pick the fruit for them? I will work for food. What if I could get the excess to those who need it? Who would help me do it? What would be involved? I couldn't wait to get home and begin this adventure.

It was about this time that I learned of a very special grant that had been awarded to our local school.  It was a grant, one of only a few, given to schools by Michelle Obama to support her healthy schools initiative.  It is called Farm to School.  I was given the name of the coordinator, Tricia Elisara.  I arranged to meet with Tricia to discuss my ideas.  Thank God I did.  Tricia helped me get my feet back on the ground and plan a more realistic scope of work to complete my Externship. Then, she said, you can move on to the big dream. I wrote my proposal and submitted my idea to my instructor.  This is a part of that plan.

I want people to know how the dream came to life and how personal it is.  I kept thinking of a quote I had read somewhere about a man who wanted to change the world.  That man spent all his life trying to change the world, in the end he felt he had failed.  He had missed his children growing up, and all the other important things in life because of his single minded goal of changing the world.  On his deathbed he realized that had he just worked to change himself he could have helped shape his own children.  His family would have changed.  Had his family worked to change his community, his community could have changed his county. The county could have changed the state and the region.  Region by region the whole country could have been changed.  Country by country the world would have been changed.  The one thing he wanted more than anything else in his life was to change the world.  He realized he only needed to change himself.  And that is all I can do.  I can change myself and what I do every day in my own life.  Making my life better improves my family.  My family is part of my larger community.  A community which has been my family home for seven generations.  The same community that has begun to let food go to waste while many of their neighbors go hungry.

I saw a need in my own life.  I am working to fill that need.  In so doing, I hope to help fill that same need for others. I hope to build a template for people to use as well.  To build a foundation that can be duplicated. The rest is up to those who choose to use this foundation upon which to build a better life for themselves and those around them.  Connecting those who have with those who can to serve those who need.

Gleaning Hands.

Big Dream-Basic Plan

A Plan for Gleaning Hands

Gleaning Hands is a group of volunteers dedicated to serving our community and helping our
neighbors by providing:
• Help to those in our community who are no longer able, or are not available, to care for
their own orchards, fruit trees or other edible plants and gardens.
• Service to the community through collection of fruit, berries and nuts and other produce
from public and private sources that would otherwise rot on the tree or on the ground.
• Extra hands to glean the fields for our local farms of nonsaleable
food items.

Our Recipients:
50% of the gleaned produce will be donated directly to our Farm to School program to
help bring fresh nutrient dense foods to our children that may otherwise be too expensive for the
school to afford.

How Gleaning Hands works:
Gleaning Hands runs on requests, referrals, and through direct outreach to local farms
and farmers.
To request Private gleaning services: (Website Not Yet Active)
Visit our Website (www.gleaninghands.org) or send an email to
help@gleaninghands.org (email not yet active) to request help for yourself or someone you know who is in
need of our helping hands.
Upon receipt of your request, a volunteer will call to assess the need and schedule a
time for our gleaners to come attend to the harvest.

Gleaning Our Local Public Spaces:
Gleaning Hands Volunteers living in our community continuously identify and pinpoint
potentially gleanable produce in and around their neighborhoods. We maintain a large
map for used to identify and geographically locate the fruit trees, berry patches and nut
trees in our local public areas. Once identified, a volunteer with Gleaning Hands will
work to obtain legal access to the produce from either public or private entities as
needed.
Proper access having been granted, Gleaning Hands will place the tree or patch on our
Harvest Calendar showing approximate harvest times and estimated number of
volunteers needed for the task. A volunteer from Gleaning Hands will coordinate a
group gleaning session based on harvest times for these public food sources.

Local Farm Gleaning Services:
A Gleaning Hands volunteer is available to contact, coordinate
and schedule with
local farmers helping to establish their individual need for gleaning at appropriate
harvest times. Gleaning Hands provides a much needed link, scheduling with farmers
and gleaning volunteers to provide gleaning services upon request.
All of the above services are available year round and can be scheduled on a standing
yearly basis. Gleaning Hands will schedule for next year, add you to the gleaning
calendar, and follow up with you 46
weeks in advance of next years harvest.

Harvest Distribution Practices:

What do we do with all that Produce?
Gleaning hands was founded to save fresh produce, fruits and nuts from rotting in the
fields, falling to the ground, or otherwise going unused and put it in the hands of those
can benefit from fresh, nutrient dense, local foods on a more regular and cost effective
basis.
Distribution of Gleaned crops:
Gleaning Hands distributes 100% of gleaned crops as follows:
Local Farm to School Program:
50% by weight of the gleaned crop will be donated to the local school Farm to School
Program. If the school does not want or need the crop at that time, the produce will be
donated to the local food bank or Sr. Lunch program or other program designed to help
feed those in need in our community.
To Home/Property Owner:
25% by weight of the gleaned crop will be offered to the home or land owner for their
personal use. The property owner can chose to donate their portion of the glean to
Farm to School as well. It is completely their choice.
To The Gleaners:
25% by weight of the gleaned crop will be split between the volunteer gleaners for
personal use and to thank them for their service. A volunteer may choose to donate
their portion to Farm to School if they would like.
WinWinWin!

My Vision for Gleaning Hands:

This Gleaning project has been designed using pieces and parts of several other
gleaning projects being offered all over the country. It is with thanks and appreciation to
those who have walked this path before us. You will find a short list of various gleaning projects
nationwide on the resources page located within this blog. This list is in no way complete and
will change as time passes. Groups come and go, new groups spring up, new connections are
made. Check the resources page often for new information and connections. Gleaning is a
growing movement.
In the future, Gleaning Hands would like to offer classes and demonstrations on canning,
dehydrating, soap making, candle making, longterm  food storage, homesteading practices,
Permaculture, Local Farm and Food History, Seed Saving, Composting, Vermiculture,
Bee Keeping, and many other skills that augment the gleaning process. By teaching others how
to grow and maintain a more self sufficient lifestyle we strengthen ourselves, our families and
our community. Moving forward by returning to our local roots.

Other connections we will be working to make will be with the local farmers, ranchers, growers, and
vendors. It is important that we support our local farming community. Growing the local food
economy will help us all weather future turbulence whether that be man-caused or natural in nature.

This is a big idea. A big dream. A big job. I believe in my heart this can and will be accomplished.
All this, and much more. I believe it because I have lived it. This is how my community
functioned when I was a little girl. I remember. Many others I know and have known most of my
life remember too. None of us wishes to see these memories die with us. It is our responsibility,
our duty to our community and our children, to share these memories and skills before it is too
late. I know this is possible because I am not alone in my dream. Someone has to step forward
with a plan. This is my plan. This is me, being the change I want to see in my world. It is the
power of One. It will grow in my community. It is taking shape as I write this today. Roots are
beginning to spread.

As you read and look at the photos and videos posted documenting the birth of this project, do
not hesitate to dream your own dream. This project is meant to become the foundation and the
structure for duplication in other communities. Your community. Each will be different and as
unique as the land it is rooted in. That is the definition of Organic, or at least it used to be. Let
us, become community. Together, we can.