What I've Gleaned From Gleaning

(A belated but still relevant meditation on our gleaning trip last fall at Pippin Orchards).

By Michelle Zheng, Special Events Coordinator 

“I went on a gleaning trip this weekend!”

“What? What did you clean?”

“No, gleaning, with a G.”

Most haven't gleaned more than information from a book, but gleaning has another definition that's important to know about. It's also the act of gathering surplus crops that would otherwise go to waste from fields when farms don't have the resources or time to harvest everything they've grown. A practice with biblical origins, farmers would leave excess produce in their fields as a form of charity, so that strangers and the poor could gather the food. Nowadays, it's practiced by humanitarian groups, but the principle is still the same: redistribute excess food to those in need. And what FRN does on college campuses can be considered gleaning in a more modern context: the dining halls are now the fields, and leftover food the crops.

But this doesn't mean that we can't practicing gleaning as it's traditionally defined as well.

Here at Brown, we decided to try gleaning for ourselves. After contacting a few farms, we got a response from Pippin Orchard, a local farm located just half an hour away from campus that graciously welcomed us to come and pick as we liked at the end of their season.

So on a sunny Saturday in November, we drove over as a group of nine to see what we could recover. With us were both FRNds from campus and from the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project (RIHAP). After we were greeted by Farmer Joe, who came out to greet us with oven mitts still on both hands (the smell of Thanksgiving pie wafting from behind him hinted at why), we headed out to the orchard to pick apples – buckets, crates and bags in hand.

The trees were so laden with apples in the area we were picking from that dozens of apples would literally fall off a tree if you gave it a nice shake. It was clear that we could've recovered several times as many apples were it not for transportation difficulties – we ran out of containers, and only had a truck and a car to load our harvest on. After hardly more than an hour, we had already filled every single one of our containers to the brim with apples as fresh as they come. And if that wasn't enough, the icing on our already robust gleaning cake, so to speak, was already-harvested pumpkins that Pippin had just sitting around, unused after Halloween. We then toasted our success with some apple cider and snacks, chatting about everything from how classes were going for us students to the experiences of our friends from RIHAP.

After weighing everything back on campus, we arrived at our grand total: 703 pounds of tasty, tasty produce. 703 pounds from just one morning of gleaning, and potentially so much more had we been more prepared with transportation. Definitely not the worst way to have spent a Saturday morning.

Gleaning has been on our minds since then. We're hoping to organize even more gleaning trips next fall, and take advantage of the huge potential sitting out there in the farms around us. Not only is the potential for recovery huge, but the potential to make local connections as well: by gleaning, we can support local agriculture both by helping farmers reduce their waste and allowing them to make tax deductions for the gleaned produce. It's a vote for sustainable local food systems.

Legality is an issue when it comes to organizing gleaning events, but our good old friend the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act takes care of liability associated with gleaned food, save instances of gross negligence or intentional misconduct. And volunteers can sign liability waivers that prevent growers from legal responsibility in the case that volunteers injure themselves while participating.

Now that I've had this experience, I'd love to see other chapters organize gleaning trips as well. It's as easy as contacting farmers, figuring out a few logistics, and then going out to the fields. And if gleaning from farms isn't geographically feasible, there's also urban gleaning, where gleaners collect produce from backyards and public spaces. Both are great ways to translate a hunger for action into the freshest kind of food possible for those who need it. So onwards, my FRNds – get out there and get gleaning!

Pay-by-the-minute Cafes

Last weekend, the spring semester team got together for our second ever orientation session. The majority of the meeting was spent discussing a great NY Times article addressing the issue of people going fast food restaurants, namely McDonald's, and staying there for hours at a time with a newspaper or others for company. Many franchises are now imposing limits on the amount of time any one customer can stay- one location set a 20 minute limit! In our Food Group discussions we covered issues of the right to space and the right to refuse service, the socioeconomic situation of those staying at the fast food chains as well as those working there.

What if the time you spend at a cafe did not matter because you pay by the minute?

A self-described "social experiment", Ziferblat is a chain of cafes in Russia that charge a rate per minute to be in the cafe where "everything is free".

The cafes are intended to be collaborative spaces for free expression. Services include access to a full kitchen, complimentary snacks and drinks and even a piano. Additionally, there is no minimum time limit so visitors can wander about, timer in pocket, as long as they are willing to pay.
In the past two years Ziferblat has opened 10 locations in Russia but is now expanding and has opened their first international franchise in London where the going rate is 3 pence per minute (cool interior photos can be found on their site).

How does this model work out in Western settings? Why has this not been explored before? What does this mean for the monetization of space? Is there equal access for all?

Please post any thoughts or responses below!

Apply to be our new Community Outreach Coordinator or the Director of Engaged Scholarship!

We have an exciting opportunity for any interested representatives or supervisors, past or present-

We are looking for a new Campus Outreach Coordinator to join our Leadership Team and start this Spring!
In addition, we have created a new position titled the Director of Engaged Scholarship.

Please see the linked descriptions and fill out the brief applications. There will be interviews for all candidates.

Community Outreach Coordinator Application

Director of Engaged Scholarship

Welcome back, FRNds!

Hi y'all!
We hope you had a great break and have been staying warm.

***

The FRN Leadership Team has already begun planning some exciting changes for representatives, supervisors and the LT alike for the coming semester.
We are currently taking applications for new representatives. If you have friends who have expressed interest in FRN you can send them the link to our application for spring 2014. The deadline is January 30th at 11:59 pm. You must be available Sunday, February 2nd from 12-1:30 for an orientation session.

Are you interested in working closely with our community partners, like McAuley House, and attending community meetings and workshops on issues of homelessness and food insecurity?
We are also looking for a new community outreach coordinator. Please e-mail us at frnatbrown@gmail.com for more information.

Tis...the end of the season.

Here it is, the last newsletter of the fall 2013 semester. I think we're all asking ourselves where the time went -- as we always do -- and what on Earth the next semester will bring. As far as FRN goes, we hope to see your faces again next year! We will be looking for somenew people on the LT and Supervisors will be getting some new responsibilities. A commitment form for next semester will be sent out over break, and it will include a section on feedback if you want to let us know how you thought the semester went. Applications for the LT and such will be sent later on. 

From the whole LT, we thank you SO much for your help this semester; we couldn't have done it without you! We hope the new structure worked well for you all and improvement will continue to be made.

To leave you all with one last thought: what would you propose FRN do, so that we can eventually not exist? Read Rosalie's article below and let us know what you think.

Have a wonderful break!
Best,
FRN LT 

*This semester is my (Charlotte) last on the LT, but I'll see you all in the future as a fellow Rep! 

The Weight of the World

by Rosalie Kissel (Rep)

   
     For the past few months (my first months at Brown), my food-centric student activities have taught me a great deal.  In my other clubs, I have gotten to turn compost, work at the student garden, discuss labor rights issues, and meet some fantastic and dedicated individuals.  But my first FRN delivery gave me something entirely unique. During that first Monday night pickup, I felt that I was making a difference in the greater Providence community.  What I did was so small.  I lifted a few boxes, carried a few bags, walked a few blocks.  But I got to be a part of a national organization that has saved over 96,000 meals from being wasted and consequently warded off hunger 96,000 times.  The weight of the box in my arms and the wafting smell of croissants made me feel that tangible good was coming from what I did, what we all were doing together.
     From the time I was seven until I was almost seventeen I volunteered at the Potter League for Animals, an animal shelter in Middletown, Rhode Island. A few years ago, the shelter was entirely rebuilt to accommodate more animals, enhance the building’s level of sustainability, and provide a more comfortable environment for the people and creatures that spent their days there.  One day, while walking some dogs in the field out back, I turned to my mother, a fellow volunteer, and asked, “If you could wish one thing for the new shelter, what would it be?”
     “I wish it didn’t have to exist,” she replied. In an ideal world, no one would leave their dog when they moved away, no cats would be found wandering the streets, no owners would be abusive.  In an ideal world, all animals would be wanted and cared for, and there would be no need for the Potter League.
     As a volunteer for FRN, I can see that the organization’s ultimate dream is that it won’t have to exist; not only that food won’t be wasted, but also that the shelters we serve won’t need to exist either. When thinking of what it will take to reach a point in America’s history where organizations like FRN won’t have to exist, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the enormity of the task at hand.  At times, I wonder if I am really helping at all.  It is commonly acknowledged that modern hunger in America is not caused by a lack of food, but rather by the inability of individuals and families to regularly afford food.  There is more than enough food to nourish every Providence man, woman, and child at the Urban League, the McAuley House, and all of the organizations we serve.  The problem is not quantity, it is access.  I understand this now.  No matter the number of days Victoria (my pickup partner) and I bring in over twenty pounds of food from the Blue Room, we will not solve the problems of poverty, violence, and food insecurity in America; we cannot ensure that every member of the Providence community gets healthy, fresh food on a regular basis. 
     Having realized the enormity of the social ills FRN is addressing, by my second delivery weight of the box in my arms and the wafting smell of croissants did not make me feel quite so good. Yes, I would help feed people that night, but what was I doing to help make their lives better in the long run? I felt discouraged.  The next day, I picked up a book in my room – “On Virtues,” a book written by Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.  I flipped to a page that I had bookmarked over the summer.  On the page was a quotation from Edmund Burke, a great eighteenth century Irish political thinker. It read: “Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.”
     After reading that quotation a few times over, it finally sunk in: I shouldn’t get bogged down in the magnitude of what FRN is addressing.  I should do my part and feel good about it. Just because I cannot fix everything that is wrong with America, does not mean that I shouldn’t try to help those in need.  Now, I take pride in what I get to do every Monday: “a little.” Each and every week, the other volunteers and I are working bit by bit to create something wonderful, a world in which the Food Recovery Network does not have to exist.  

December 1st

by Charlotte Hacke (LT Coordinator)

The beginning of the last month of the year. The month of the (official) beginning of winter, and of course of the holiday that seems to be looming over us throughout the entire year: Christmas. What does this all mean for most of us? Cold weather, snow, and time for vacation/family. However, what would this mean for many of our community partners? A  search for winter coats & open shelters. Luckily, there are a few opportunities in Providence for these two things.

Coats!

• There was a drive for coats on Black Friday. Check out the story here.
• Coats for coffee: Seven Stars & Courtesy Cleaners team up to donate a cup of coffee to each person who donates a winter coat! Coats are still available at the South Side Girls & Boys Club in Providence. Full story is here. 

In terms of shelters, they are squeezing in as many people as they can (as always). Special Christmas dinners will happen in most of them, but more info on that later. For now, bagels are a good way to pack on the pounds for the cold winter months to come!