Host Gleaners at your Home
Do you have fruit trees that you don’t get around to harvesting? Or maybe you only want half of the fruit and there is still a ton of fruit to be harvested? Open your yard to gleaners!
Through our website you can donate your crop, this could be any fruits, nuts, and/or vegetables that you have an abundance of. We suggest you sign up now, so you are ready when the fruit is ripe, https://clallamgleaners.org/donatecrop.php!
Best practices for being a host look like this:
- Sign up on the website to be a host.
- Call Sharah 4-5 days prior to peak ripeness, she will post your glean opportunity on the website. It usually takes 4-5 days to get the gleaning set up.
- We are looking for produce this is ripe but not overripe, also with minimal insect damage.
- We ask the homeowner to taste the fruit before we send over the gleaner/s to ensure that their time is well spent, and the fruit is of decent quality.
Another consideration is quantity, we are looking for enough to fill multiple grocery bags. As organizing and driving to different sites takes time and energy, we want to be sure it is a worthwhile effort. We also ask that a good amount of the fruit is at 12’ height or lower, as most gleaners will only have an 8 to 10’ ladder to bring.
As a standard rule for best health practices, we discourage the pickup of ground falls as the food is being donated to food banks, senior centers, etc.
Gleaning is also something that takes place at farmers markets. The Port Angeles Market has long had a volunteer position, someone who comes at the end of the day to gather any produce available from the farmers, that is then brought to food access sites or organizations. Currently Port Angeles is looking for more support in this position. Please contact http://farmersmarketportangeles.com/market/ to learn more.
For any information about Gleaning or help with the website, contact sharah.truett@wsu.edu, 360-565-2619.