Volunteers Glean Over 5,000 lbs. of Apples

NEWBURGH – On Monday, November 12, 2018, Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County’s Gleaning/Food Access Team met with volunteers to glean apples at Lawrence Farms Orchards in Newburgh. This was the largest glean of the apple season so far, with 28 volunteers arriving to pick and pack an abundant crop of Ida Red and Empire varieties. By the end of the day, volunteers had filled 132 boxes with apples, totaling 5,280 pounds. The farmer donated an additional 1,280 pounds of different squash varieties to the Gleaning Team on the same day.

With the sun shining and the temperature holding in the 50’s, both adult and youth volunteers were able to enjoy the weather while contributing to the local emergency food resource provider network on their day off. One family visiting from the Bronx offered to stay and voluntarily glean to help the effort and spend time together.

Over the next few days, the Gleaning Team transported Lawrence Farms Orchards’ donated squash and apples in their refrigerated box truck to food pantries, soup kitchens, and community organizations in preparation for large Thanksgiving distributions to food-insecure families in the Hudson Valley. The team works with farms throughout the growing and harvest season to recover excess produce and provide pantries and soup kitchens with healthy, fresh, locally-grown food that would otherwise go to waste.

The Gleaning Team extends its warmest thanks to Lawrence Farms Orchards for their tremendous generosity and to the volunteers for their hard work and enthusiasm.

If you are a Hudson Valley farmer interested in donating unmarketable fruits and vegetables of any amount, or you wish to be involved in our volunteer gleaning efforts, please contact Gleaning Program Coordinator Megan VanGorden at mkv24@cornell.edu.