Gleaning Day!

Thursday, July 26, 2007

City Harvest recently announced times and locations for their Fall “gleaning day”.  It’s a great way to help Philadelphia’s underserved families get good, nutritious food.  This Fall when you clean up your garden, be sure to collect your extra produce and participate!

From a Pennsylvania Horticultural Society press release:

Historically, “gleaning” is the collection of leftover produce from farm fields after mechanical harvesting for donation to emergency food cupboards. Through Philadelphia Green’s City Harvest project, home and community gardeners can “glean” from their gardens this fall and donate extra produce to help needy families in our region.

City Harvest is a partnership with the Philadelphia Prison System; communitygardeners; and SHARE (Self Help and Resource Exchange), a nonprofit network that provides nutritious food to families and individuals. Inmates of the Philadelphia Prison System start vegetable seedlings that are grown to maturity at 25 community gardens in Philadelphia, and SHARE facilitates distribution of the produce to area food cupboards.

If you would like to participate, please collect your extra garden produce and bring it to one of following locations. Any amount is welcome. Donations of fresh, ready-to-eat vegetables or fruit can be packed in boxes or bags. Produce should be cleaned of soil (a few bug holes are okay), have no major bruising, and preferably be naturally grown. SHARE will begin picking up donations at 1 pm.  Participants will be entered in a raffle to win tickets to the Philadelphia Flower Show.

Locations for August 18:
Journey Home Garden, 800 N. 8th St, 19123 (8th & Poplar)
Hansberry Garden & Nature Center, 5150 Wayne Ave. 19144 (Germantown, Wayne & Hansberry)
Southwark Community Garden, 311 Christian St, 19147 (South Phila., 3rd & Christian)
Warrington Community Garden, 4731 Warrington Ave. 19143 (47th & Warrington)

Locations for September 15
Aspen Farms, 4837 Aspen St, 19139 (West Phila., 49th & Aspen Streets, off Haverford Ave)
Bel Arbor Community Garden, 1012 Kimball St., 19147 (South Phila., between 10th & 11th Sts. just south of Carpenter) Garden RUN, 242 Monastery Ave., 19128 (off Ridge Ave. in Roxborough)
Liberty Lands Garden, 913 N 3rd St., 19123 (Northern Liberties, entrance off Bodine & American Sts.)
For more information, please email or call Eileen Gallagher at 215-988-8880.