Farmers, Packers, and Farmers Markets

Use our form to ask questions or indicate your interest. Our coordinator for your state will get back to you.

 

♦  In gleaning areas, our volunteers will glean your leftover crops. A trained supervisor will be in charge. And the Good Samaritan Food Donation Act protects you.

♦  We’ll deliver the food to food banks, churches, pantries, soup kitchens, and other feeding agencies. There is no cost to the agency.

♦  Hungry people receive fresh, nutritious food, thanks to your generosity.

♦  You’ll receive a year-end letter acknowledging your charitable donations for your use as you file your taxes.

♦  We’ve been doing this for 35 years – currently distributing 25-30 million pounds a year – it works!

What Sets Us Apart?
SoSA is the nation’s largest gleaner of fresh produce. We salvage produce at the farm and packing-house level that cannot be sold due to market constraints. We supply fresh vegetables and fruit that helps to improve the health and well-being of society’s most vulnerable. We have no handling fees – there is no cost to the agencies for the food we provide, helping to stretch tight budgets. The environment benefits; the food we salvage by the tractor-trailer load does not end up in landfills, but on the plates of the hungry.

Who Receives our Food?
The produce we collected by our volunteer gleaners, and the food received as donations from growers and packing houses, goes to food pantries, food banks, low-income and elderly housing complexes, social service agencies, group homes, homeless shelters, rehab facilities, and more. Within 24-48 hours of picking, you can distribute the produce to hungry people in your community.

What is Gleaning?
Gleaning is an ancient tradition mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible. Gleaners are allowed into fields and orchards to pick fruits and vegetables after the grower’s harvest. One quarter of all food produced for human consumption is lost annually in the United States – enough to feed about 50 million people Since it might be unmarketable or not worth picking for market reasons, produce is sometimes plowed under or left to rot, though it is perfectly edible and nutritious.
At the Society of St. Andrew, we work with farmers who allow gleaners to pick what is left. The Society of St. Andrew also salvages fruits and vegetables that have already been picked and cannot be sold for various reasons.

Who are Gleaners?
They are people of all ages, rich and poor, who want to give of their time. We connect individuals, faith groups, scout troops, clubs, schools and senior citizen groups with growers.