Every community in the country is home to people who struggle with hunger. Since federal nutrition programs don’t reach everyone in need, food banks help fill the gap. Learn more about local food insecurity by exploring data from Feeding America’s annual Map the Meal Gap study. When we better understand hunger, we can help end hunger.

A third of the food raised or prepared does not make it from farm or factory to fork. Producing uneaten food squanders a whole host of resources—seeds, water, energy, land, fertilizer, hours of labor, financial capital—and generates greenhouse gases at every stage—including methane when organic matter lands in the global rubbish bin. The food we waste is responsible for roughly 8 percent of global emissions.

Feeding Kentucky’s seven member food banks serve all 120 Kentucky counties in partnership with a network of over 800 local food pantries and shelters. Last year, their members distributed 86 million pounds of food and grocery products — enough for 72 million meals for our struggling neighbors. They reach an estimated 1 in 7 of all Kentuckians each year.

Gleaning is a term describing the act of either picking, cleaning or sorting produce that would otherwise be wasted. It is a practice long known to Europe, and in the past thirty years has gained immense popularity among non-profit organizations throughout the United States. The Cedar Valley Gleaning Program (CVGP) had its pilot-year in the fall of 2014. This thesis seeks to improve the efficacy of the CVGP through examining both the pilot year, and a qualitative study of gleaning operations worldwide, to answer the question: How can gleaning become an effective tool for communities in the Cedar Valley.