Utah County Gleaning Program seeks Volunteers

Photo Courtesy Arbor Day Foundation

If you are like many in our times you have driven by a beautiful fruit tree with its bounty on the ground and thought of all the people that could have benefited from this wasted fruit.

 The Gleaning Program promoted by the Utah County Food Bank has a solution to assist both the landowner and those seeking to have a more secure long term food supply, and also those who are concerned with the plight of others around them.

Those who are willing to volunteer their time can benefit in a few different ways. Unlike other Food Bank programs, the volunteers themselves are allowed to keep what is harvested due to their efforts.

Often, they will also contribute to the stores in the Food Bank itself.

In 2009 a local apple orchard was put into the program. Over 1500 trees of Red Delicious apples were harvested into the hands of Utah County residents also assisted by volunteers from UVU and BYU.

This is an exciting, development as it allows the economy to grow when residents have more self security within their own homes. Participants are also invited to join in classes teaching canning and dehydrating for long term storage, also preventing waste of the bounty we share.

In April 20l0 we are recruiting volunteers to assist in pruning this orchard.

We are continually looking for trees/produce that members of the community would like to be harvested .

There are many different ways that you can become a part of this effort!

Interested?

To learn how you and/or your group can participate in this exciting event, please email Fauna Smith at utahcountygleaning@gmail.com