Every year in the United States, some 68 billion pounds of food goes to waste. That’s billion with a B.
Here in Maryland, urban farmer and 2012 OSI-Baltimore Community Fellow Arthur Morgan has devised a way to salvage some of our region’s contribution to that waste—and get healthful foods in the hands of those who need it.
Working with volunteers, he collects what local farmers and restaurants are unable to harvest, sell or use and transports it himself to soup kitchens, homeless shelters, churches and community farm stands, among other places.
Arthur Morgan gathers broccoli at Zahradka Farm in Essex. During harvesting season, he and scores of volunteers pick surplus produce at local farms, farmers’ markets and businesses—and then transport the bounty to such places as Our Daily Bread, Moveable Feast and The Franciscan Center of Baltimore. This work is called “gleaning.” Over time, Morgan hopes to scale up his fellowship, “Gather Baltimore: Gaining Access To Healthy Eating Resources,” and find an efficient way to glean foods across the region to feed more and more people.
On this day, about 50 volunteers gave up a few chilly morning hours to help glean such items as red kale, rutabaga, turnips and cauliflower. The volunteers also assist the farm’s owner by providing time helping him with tedious chores, such as removing twine from a picked-over patch of eggplant, or harvesting produce for the farmer’s own selling needs.
George Zahradka, 42, has farmed for more than half his life. Shown here working with his own crew alongside Morgan’s gleaners, he says he is grateful for the work of Gather Baltimore’s volunteers, who provide him with free and cheerful labor. And he is happy to help give a portion of his bounty to those who need it. “It’s nice to be able to help people,” he says.
Morgan dreamed up the idea behind “Gather Baltimore” when he noticed vendors at the Baltimore Farmers’ Market would begin throwing away food they could not sell at the end of the day. I said, “‘Holy moly! Look at all this food that is going to waste,’” Morgan says. In addition to local farms, Gather Baltimore volunteers also glean at area farmers’ markets such as this one under the JFX.
For only $5, buyers at local farm stands can line up to fill large plastic IKEA bags to the brim with vegetables, fruit and other fresh foods. In rain and freezing cold temperatures, the residents come, grateful for affordable access to produce in neighborhoods with few, if any, healthful grocery store options.
Janelle Desormeaux (pictured here with Jazmyn, 10, and Railyn, 4) gets fresh green beans at a farm stand in the Oliver neighborhood that is overflowing with produce. Gather Baltimore’s gleans serve 150-200 individuals and families at the Oliver farm stand weekly, and 100-150 people every other week at a stand in the Pen-Lucy community. Morgan plans to add another city farm stand to the rotation this year.
Mary L. Bryant, 61, selects vegetables for the week’s meals. “It helps me greatly,” she says of the farm stand. “I have an elderly mom who is not able to get out and about to go to the market. So I fix my meals along with hers. That way we share the produce. The grocery store is hard to get to and I find the produce there is rather high.”
Bryant walks back to her home with a bag filled with greens, turnips, potatoes and onions. “A lot of folks are unemployed, disabled and there are a lot of things that are going on with folks that we don’t know about. This is a big help, especially to people with families. I see a lot of men in line. And if you don’t have the money, you don’t have the food. So this helps all of us. It helps the community quite a bit.”