VOLUNTEER WITH GLEAN

Be at the core of what we do.

Serving as the vital link between food waste and food insecurity, gleaners gather up fresh produce from a source (grocery store, farm, etc.) and immediately deliver it to a recipient site (food pantry, hunger agency, neighborhood ambassador, etc.) where it can be distributed to those in need.

To Become a Gleaning Volunteer

If you’re interested in doing the essential on the ground work in the field literally getting your hands dirty rescuing produce, here’s the steps to follow.

Step 1: Fill Out a Volunteer Profile

Complete a volunteer profile to let us know who you are and how you’d like to help.

Step 2: Sign and Return the Liability Release Form

Please print, read, sign and return a copy of Glean Kentucky’s Liability Release Form . You may email a copy of the signed form to malik@gleanky.org or bring it with you to your first gleaning opportunity and give it directly to your Regional Field Coordinator.

Step 3: Participate in Volunteer Training

Watch our virtual training video. This training covers how our gleaning works and how you can get involved.
Watch our pandemic safety video. This video covers how to glean safely during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Step 4: Choose How You Glean

There are a variety of volunteer opportunities to choose from. After you sign up for an opportunity that works best for you, get in touch with your regional coordinator who will walk you through your first gleaning experience.

Scheduled Gleanings: Find and sign up for regularly scheduled gleaning opportunities at farms, farmers markets and groceries.
Rapid Response Team: Join our Rapid Response team to receive text message alerts about on-call gleaning opportunities.
Plant It Forward: Dedicate part of your garden to gleaning purposes.

Step 5: Record Your Gleaning

After gleaning, volunteers fill out this short form to help us collect data.

Step 6: Stay in Touch

If you run into any questions or concerns while gleaning, call your regional coordinator. He or she will get back to you promptly. Glean Kentucky always has staff members on-call to assist with gleaning.

To Volunteer in Other Ways

We know not everyone has the ability or desire to work out in the fields rescuing produce. We still would love to have you help in other ways! We have regular tabling events as well as administrative tasks and other opportunities we could use some help with.

Step 1: Fill Out a Volunteer Form

Please fill out our non-gleaning volunteer application. This allows us to get an idea of how we bring you in and what opportunities we may have for you.