Sharing the Harvest

The following originally appeared on The Stafford Foundation blog.

Autumn is upon us, a season of cooler weather, waning light, and crops turning in for the season. As we approach what is for many the final time of harvest, we remember those who find food hard to come by throughout the whole year. Hunger is a sad and continuing reality across the country, but like the sun shining through the turning leaves, we see glimmers of hope in combined efforts to ensure that all may have something to eat.

One helpful practice is gleaning, or the harvesting of a farm’s leftover crops to help feed the hungry. Gleaning demonstrates not only our capacity to share, but the abundance we have and are able to give to people in need. For example, Gloria Henderson of Jacksonville, NC, practices gleaning year-round to help provide fresh food to people in her community. This past year, Henderson and her fellow workers collected 200,000 pounds of food, which was then distributed across neighboring counties to people in need. People around the country also regularly take part in the Society of St. Andrew’s Harvest of Hope program, which allows people to take part in gleaning efforts and learn more about hunger both within and beyond the United States.

Tasks like gleaning are important not just because of the people helped, but because it reminds us of what we are capable of beyond a single donation or a caring word. Hunger is sometimes said to be the result of not enough food to go around, but maybe there would be more to share if we all got together and gathered food for distribution, be it through gleaning or other efforts. Helping others, like food and other resources, is most effective and enjoyable when it is shared amongst many.

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