Brightside: Society of St. Andrew’s Gleaning Network
DELMARVA- When it comes to food, fresh is always best and the Society of St. Andrew on Delmarva says their doing God’s work by feed their neighbors in the community.
History of Helping Hands
Straight from the Old Testament, gleaning means sharing our harvest, and the Society of St. Andrew in Salisbury takes that word to heart. “Our mission is to get healthy food to hungry people, so we do that in all the creative ways, with a lot of community support.”
Their Gleaning Network had over 530 volunteers work with them last year and Delmarva Regional Coordinator Alena Wright says this is the way they give back. “So, we go out to the farm, we bring our volunteers, and then we spend a couple of hours in the sunshine picking fresh vegetables.”
Wright goes on to say, “And then, those volunteers, sometimes help deliver the food to agencies, or someone we work with delivers them to the agencies. We worked with 111 agencies last year. So that means food pantries, schools, soup kitchens.”
Glad to Glean
When farmers or grocery stores can’t sell produce due to size or shape, but the food is still edible and fresh, “Gleaning” is distributing that food to those who need it. Though she’s only been here for a few months.
Wright has been a wellness and yoga instructor for the past 20 years and is proud to make this a part of her life’s work. “I’ve done a lot of gleanings already and moved large loads- which means if a truck comes through, and there’s a big truckload full, I get to help decide where those go and make the connections with the agencies.”
America’s Agriculture
Food Insecurity has been an issue on the Shore and Wright says that wasn’t always the case, and that our local farmers are the cornerstone of the State. “Well, this region traditionally provided most of the food in America. So, we have fertile soil, we have a long-standing tradition of farms.
She says it’s important to instill these values in the youth. “It’s important to the culture of this community. Our farms are passed down from generation and we also have a lot of new farmers so it’s important for us to have access to our farmers and access to our food.”
Wright says during these times, helping the less fortunate is very inspiring and they couldn’t do this without the many volunteers. And bringing healthy meals to homes is something she couldn’t be happier to be a part of. “It really instills the importance of growing our own food, eating fresh vegetables, plus it’s so healthy. They’re getting the food the day it’s picked. That has so many more nutrients for them it’s really vital food. ”
Wright tells us they will continue to look at the Brightside of gleaning, and there are always opportunities to help out and volunteer. If you would like more information on the Gleaning Network at The Society of St. Andrew, visit their website.
