By Jean Blish Siers *
I’m a sucker for certain types of Internet “click bait,” those headlines written solely to drive traffic to a page. I skip most (not all) videos of funny cats, but if I see a headline that says, “The 10 Things You Should Always Buy at Trader Joe’s,” I’m there! And of course the other day I clicked on, “The Items You Should Never Buy at Costco.”
There is a Costco near my house and I’m typically there ...
Continue Reading →By Jean Blish Siers *
“No throwing!” That’s one of our main rules as we glean the fields in Charlotte, North Carolina. “If you throw, you have to leave the field.” I tell everyone this – children and adults alike – before we head out to glean.
People think it’s strict, and I have often been accused of being no fun at all. I’ve raised a child. I’m used to the accusation and can live ...
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“The conditions were perfect” … not what you’d expect to hear from your friends in the Midwest, in January. And in truth, it was snowing and not ideal weather for gleaning the fields. But Ann would not be discouraged.
She had recently learned that many apple orchards keep harvested apples in refrigerated storage over the winter. This can occasionally lead to apples being unsold and wasted. Ann wanted to make sure no apple was left ...
Continue Reading →By Jean Blish Siers *
“What do they eat on Tuesday?” Those words have been rolling around in my head since we harvested our final field of beautiful strawberries last summer.
Sarah had brought her young son Graham to glean with us that day for the first time. Graham is one of those amazing kids I love to be around: He’s a questioner. Why was there a chicken coop with no chickens? Why were some ...
Continue Reading →It seems so simple. About forty people scatter across a field that’s covered by rows of leafy plants. They talk with each other, and laugh sometimes, as they pick kale. This bucolic scene is a common one for volunteers with the Society of St. Andrew. It happens thousands of times a year, in fields and orchards from the Gulf states of Florida and Mississippi, to the upper plains of Michigan and the hills of ...
Continue Reading →Ethel Halsey, a schoolteacher and outdoor educator from Rhode Island, was active in hiking and nature groups throughout her adult life. She supported charities that preserved the environment and promoted wise use of Earth’s resources.
Ethel knew she wanted to leave a legacy that would carry on her commitments long beyond her lifetime. Never married and childless, the decisions about how to structure that legacy were entirely her own – and Ethel was a planner. She selected a ...
Continue Reading →VOLUNTEER WAIVER
In the event I, or a registered family member, suffers any illness or accident requiring emergency hospitalization, medication, or other medical assistance while participating in a gleaning event, permission is given for any medical treatment which is deemed necessary and reasonable under the circumstances. I fully understand and comprehend that reasonable care will be exercised by the adult staff for this gleaning event to protect the safety of those involved. I understand that the field supervisor’s instructions must be followed at all times, and that I am responsible for any damages caused to fields, farms, or equipment by me/my family members not following these instructions.
Photos, videos, and other images in which I, or a registered family member, appear that are taken during gleanings may be used by the Society of St. Andrew for news coverage, newsletters, reports, displays, and for other print, broadcast, web, or electronic news or promotional purposes.
I do not hold the board, members, or employees of the Society of St. Andrew (SoSA,) or any volunteers liable for injury, bodily harm, accidents, or death of myself/my child during events sponsored by the Society of St. Andrew. Neither will I hold the person(s) who owns and/or operates the property from which we glean, salvage, or to which we deliver food, liable for accidents, injury, or death during the gleanings or other SoSA events.
For a PDF print version of this waiver, click here.
How the Story of the 12 Baskets is Connected to SoSA’s Name
Matthew 14:16-21
But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!” They said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.
2 Kings 4:42-44
[…]the man of God […] said, “Give them to the people that they may eat.” His attendant said, “What, will I set this before a hundred men?” But he said, “Give them to the people that they may eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left over.’” So he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.
