Often during the growing season, farmers and gardeners will call us with quick-response gleaning opportunities. This excess produce may need gleaned for a variety of reasons: Maybe it needs removed from the field before weather ruins the crop; maybe it’s excess grown that can’t be sold; perhaps the farm doesn’t have the resources to utilize the crop, so it would otherwise go left untouched. Whatever the reason, Glean Kentucky offers the services of harvesting that crop to help feed the food insecure.
In order to make gleanings like this possible, we rely on the on-call efforts of our Rapid Response Team.
Gleaners who sign up for the Rapid Response Team will receive a text alert whenever an on-call gleaning opportunity becomes available. The message will let you know where the farm is located, what crop is being harvested and other pertinent details, such as estimated time commitment and parking, so that you can make a quick decision about whether you’re available to help. If you are, you’ll respond to your county coordinator, letting them know that you’ll be there. When you arrive to the gleaning site, you’ll receive an orientation to the farm and harvest instructions.
Members of the Rapid Response Team are by no means required to join in on every on-call gleaning. However, the best candidates are those who:
- have flexible schedules
- enjoy spontaneous acts of service
- don’t mind a little dirt (we’re working on farms, after all)
Rapid Response alerts are typically sent out during the growing season (approximately April through November), though some exceptions may occur.
Email us a info@gleanky.org with “Rapid Response” in the subject line if you’d like to join the team.