6 minute read
Sharing the bounty - out and about with
SHARING THE BOUNTY: the return of gleaning
All photographs by Laura Nickoll
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Venture beyond Thanet’s municipal centres this autumn, into the surrounding fertile terrain, and it’s hard to miss the acres upon acres of cabbages, cauliflowers, pumpkins and orchards groaning with fruit. The abundance of edible crops is a welcome sight, but modern industrial farming systems and the conditions of the retail market mean that sadly not all of it ends up on our plates.
On a warm September morning, local farmer Trevor Bradley heaves open two barn doors to reveal huge crates of freshly harvested potatoes. He sells 75 to 100 tonnes of spuds a week for distribution across the south coast, many of them destined for fish and chip shops. But the contents of these crates are surplus to requirement: the potatoes are perfectly good to eat but are either too small or too large for chipping. I joined gleaning coordinator Chris Turnbull and a team of volunteers from the Hythe Environmental Community Group to pick through
For centuries, food left over after harvest would be collected and saved from going to waste. This practice of “gleaning” formed part of the ancient rural calendar.
Laura Nickoll joins a local team of picking, and ring again volunteers reviving this tradition at nightfall for gleaning to stop. Private property laws, mechanisation the crates and bag up what was and changes to domestic economies undamaged for delivery to local in rural villages led to a decline in the food poverty organisations. This practice. However, present-day food group is just one of many teams of inequalities and scandalous levels of volunteers across the country forging food waste have led to a resurgence, relationships with local farmers with networks of gleaning “hubs” and ‘gleaning’ nutritious produce - emerging the world over to help typically around 16% of crops - that combat the issue, including in our would otherwise go to waste, be corner of Kent. ploughed back into the soil, sold as Supporting England’s network animal feed or turned into biogas. of gleaning hubs is Feedback, a
Gleaning, the act of salvaging charitable organisation and campaign leftover produce (historically often group dedicated to reducing food cereal crops) from farmland after waste. Thirty community groups harvest, is an ancient rural custom. have benefited from their Gleaning For millennia it formed part of the Network training toolkits and advice, annual agricultural calendar in and since 2012 the network has England and was a legal entitlement rescued and donated over 600 tonnes of labourers and poor members of the of fresh produce from farms across farming community, providing them England, mostly in Kent, Sussex, the with a valuable supplement to their East Midlands and the north-west. income, and sustenance for the colder Chris tells me that he and his months ahead. A bell would be rung team of volunteers have rescued and in the morning to signal a field was redistributed over 10 tonnes of fresh ready for women and children to start produce, including plums, cherries, cabbages and potatoes, from east Kent farms and orchards in the last six months alone, despite the logistical headache Covid presents. Key to the success of gleaning operations is forging relationships with farmers, who contact groups when they have surplus goods. David Bradley (no relation to Trevor Bradley), owner of Selson Farm near Eastry, grows apples and pears and has been collaborating with local gleaning teams for four or five years, since reading about the practice in Farming Monthly. “I thought what a brilliant idea it was, and I got in touch with Feedback’s Gleaning Network,” he says. He invites gleaning teams onto his farm regularly, as factors beyond his control, including the weather, inaccurate forecasting and retailer requirements, lead to gluts he can’t sell.
“This year, with the dry summer, the apples are smaller and quite a few haven’t made the cut,” he explains. Wastage at his farm is decreasing, thanks in part to the growth of the low-cost supermarkets who “have
Volunteer Julie Kirby in fields of broccoli
broader specifications” when it comes to fruit shape and size, and to the work of gleaners, who help strip the trees of fruit (in turn encouraging healthy growth the following year). Working with gleaners gives him - and other farmers - the satisfaction of knowing that what would otherwise have gone to waste has made it to those in need. Chris is keen to emphasise the farmers’ good intent. “David and Trevor both have an environmentally friendly approach to farming yet have a great deal of waste, partly because of market requirements and partly because of the need to focus a workforce on the most valuable crop that is currently ripe for harvesting. This means that they have to walk away from less valuable crops. This year has been really difficult as, in the heat, some crops only have a few days during which they are optimal for harvesting.” For volunteers, the appeal of taking part isn’t just the act of helping save produce, it’s sociable too. Those I meet all agree that spending a few hours in the open air, doing “their bit”, makes it an experience well worth signing up for, with kids needing little encouragement to help with orchard pickings. A Thanet gleaning hub is in the pipeline. Sharon Goodyer, Ramsgate resident and founder of Our Kitchen, an innovative food club and outreach initiative in Margate, featuring a shop (selling solely cheap, healthy food) and educational resources to signedup members, has done preliminary gleaning training with Feedback and is excited about potentially mobilising a group in the near future. If anyone understands the logistical challenges of getting gluts of fresh produce to where they are needed most, Sharon does, having organised the delivery of over 2,000 free bags of nutritious food to people in need during the pandemic, when food poverty in the area reached its highest ever levels. There are currently 11 food banks in Thanet, but not all of them can accept perishable produce. For those that can, such as the Pie Factory Studio and Salvation Army food
Chris and his team from the Hythe Environmental Community Group
banks in Ramsgate, receiving sacks of fruit and vegetables gives their food boxes, primarily filled with tinned and dried goods, a much-needed nutritional boost. Phil Holtam at Feedback stresses that gleaning is not the sole answer to our modern food crisis. “Gleaning offers fantastic environmental and social benefits… However, it’s important to remember that food poverty and food waste are distinct challenges that need to be addressed at their respective root causes.” Gleaning is a seasonal practice too, taking place from springtime to early winter, and yields vary widely week to week, so steady supplies aren’t feasible.
This being said, the benefits of salvaging what’s unsellable are undeniable. For now, while the campaign for more large-scale redistribution channels for surplus food continues, gleaners are back on our local fields, strengthening community ties and getting good food to those who need it. Every little helps.
