Maine Harvest for Hunger

Webster’s New World Dictionary defines gleaning as “to harvest grain left behind by reapers.” The Maine Harvest for Hunger program has adapted the gleaning model to help get more nutritious, fresh food to more community members in need. Thanks to the generosity of local farmers, Master Gardener Volunteers and other trained volunteers are invited into the fields to harvest designated produce for local pantries and soup kitchens. Learn more at the Maine Harvest for Hunger website.

University of Maine Cooperative Extension considers gleaning to be food harvested/sourced and transported for donation to food pantries and other organizations that provide food for those who are food insecure. This food can come from community gardens, home gardens, farm stands, and farmers markets. It can also be grown on commercial farms, where the farmer allows volunteers to glean on their farm. Crops typically gleaned are those that keep well or have a long storage life. However, even crops with a short shelf life can be gleaned if it is done quickly and the food is properly distributed for consumption or preserved for later use.

UMaine Extension is involved in gleaning because food insecurity exists in every Maine county. Extension has a long history of addressing the research and education needs of Maine’s farming and home gardening communities with its focus on the Maine Food System. Gleaning is one way to reduce food waste and get local food to its best use—feeding local people—quickly.

Information in this handbook does not necessarily pertain to every gleaner/gleaning group, every time. It is an outline of potential ways to do gleaning. Being organized is essential, whether at a farm, garden, or pantry. Being organized includes knowing who does what, when, and where, so that the food gathered does not go to waste. 

All sections can stand alone, so it is not necessary to read this handbook in a specific order. Feel free to skip to the topics relevant to your situation. This handbook is organized from the general to the specific and ends with inspirational success stories and a list of additional resources.

Gleaning Variations

Gleaning is not a one-size-fits-all activity. Factors such as location, availability of volunteers, and the need for gleaned food all contribute to the success of a gleaning program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture published a Gleaning Guide (PDF) more than a decade ago that has usable information. The important thing is to have a structure in place before the first vegetable is picked. Review Extension’s resource guide: Eight Steps to Gleaning Success.

Because numerous factors influence a program, there are also multiple challenges and opportunities to recover and distribute food before it goes to waste. The variations on the theme of gleaning are nearly endless. The following examples are some successful models used in Maine. 

Scheduled Gleans

Scheduled gleans are the lifeblood of the gleaning practice. Gathering food regularly means that the recipients can get fresh local food consistently. Each farmer will communicate the way they are most comfortable having their farm participate. Having volunteers on their farm harvesting in the field is a decision that the farmer needs to make. Two different variations come to mind: 

• The first variation is an agreement between the gleaning group and the farmer to allow gleaners to regularly visit the farm. The template for this is based largely on a process that has been used with success for many years in Maine. Specific groups go to the same farm each week. The volunteers get to know the farm, the farmer, and the crops, and the farmer gets to know and trust the volunteers. The farm/team leader is the point of contact for the farmer before, during, and after the glean.
• The second variation is when a farm or private garden is growing specifically for the food-insecure. The planning process is more complex because gleaning is a consideration before the first plant is planted. The nonprofit Growing to Give Farm is an example of a farm that grows specifically to address food insecurity in Maine. Twin Villages Foodbank Farm is another example on Maine’s Midcoast. They act as a food access point for pantries and meal programs. 

In any type of gleaning, tracking impacts and results (poundage, recipients, volunteer hours) is significant. This helps show where needs are being met and where the gaps are. Volunteers should plan to communicate the types of food gleaned, the poundage, and the location where it was delivered to the coordinator or team leader as soon as possible. Generally, this is by email or by a form that is tallied by the organization.

Gleaning at a Farmers Market 

Although Maine has a long winter, some gleaning still happens year-round in some communities. Many towns or regions have winter markets as well as summer farmers markets. Gleaning at the end of any market is a great way to capture food that will not be salable after that market day, but is not ready for the compost pile or the garbage pail. The results from a farmers market glean are usually more varied—a little bit of a lot of different things. Often, larger markets have a market manager, who may help communicate your interests to all the participating vendors. The market manager may also confirm that no existing gleaning group is already tapping a particular farmers market, so you are not duplicating efforts.

Volunteers who are regular farmers market shoppers are generally a good choice for this kind of volunteering. Generally, all that is needed is a car because the amount gathered is usually not more than a few boxes. The volunteer should be able to lift about 20 pounds, but they can also use smaller boxes if weight is an issue. The most important thing is that this volunteer is not afraid to meet and talk to the general public, farmers, and vendors, because this work is very public-facing. These volunteers serve as ambassadors in the community through their work.

Market gleans are generally arranged in advance with the vendors at the market. The volunteer should plan to arrive before the market closes. The first step is to distribute boxes or crates to the vendors who have agreed in advance to donate their leftovers. This first trip around the market is a good opportunity to introduce yourself, drop off the box in which the vendor will place their donations, and explain to curious onlookers what you are doing. Always be open to the questions you might get. Never interrupt a vendor during a sales transaction to give them the boxes. Hang back and let them work and wait for them to have a free moment. If you’re shopping at the market, this is a great time to do so. Showing your support for local farmers is always a good thing.

Once the market has ended, take another turn around the market to pick up the boxes. It is possible that the neighbors of the vendors will then be interested in donating as well. Always stress that you are there to help them. If they do not feel like taking something back to the farm, you are willing to find a home for it quickly with a hungry family. Knowing where the food is going is always a plus, if you can give them that information. Being able to say, “This food will be delivered to the Washington Homeless Shelter Sharing Table and likely be part of their shared meal tomorrow,” shows that the food is not going to waste. Distributing food to those who would otherwise not have access to it is a worthy goal.

Getting this food into people’s homes quickly is the next step, but fortunately, this is usually arranged in advance. Sometimes, markets are open when pantries are not, so the food may be stored for a day or two. Food distribution usually falls into two categories.

• For immediate consumption, arrange for delivery directly to a recipient site, such as public housing or another congregate living situation so that residents can use the food right away. Some meal sites are willing to accept a variety of items that can be combined to form a meal that day or soon after.
• If the food is going to be distributed later, locate a refrigerated storage space and distribute it from there as soon as possible. 

For more information, consult the Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets Guide, Gleaning at Your Market.

Gleaning a Farmstand/Storage Facility 

This method is especially important during the shoulder seasons and winter, when the availability of freshly harvested produce is limited, but it can also be applied during the growing season. 

In York County, in-season gleaning happens at local farm stands. At Zach’s Farm Stand in York, ME, their policy is to never put two-day-old produce on the farm stand. Over the past several years, volunteers have established a schedule so that, each day the stand is open, a gleaning volunteer or food pantry volunteer stops by to pick up the leftovers at 5:00 pm. This high-quality produce is then distributed to the appropriate food pantry.

In Androscoggin County, weekly gleaning is done at a hydroponic growing facility. Springworks Farm grows leafy greens and raises tilapia and has year-round production, although demand varies weekly. The farm harvests all the greens when they are full-size, fills their orders, and then packs the extra for gleaners to distribute. Acting primarily as delivery and fulfillment, gleaners pick up products at a set time each week. 

In Sagadahoc County, Merrymeeting Gleaners glean storage crops year-round: The group works with the farmer in advance to send 3–4 volunteers to the storage facility weekly to glean all the produce that will not be salable at the next farmers market. This availability could be due to excess, or some of it might not meet the standards of the farmers market buyers. Storage crops can include apples, pears, regular and sweet potatoes, various root vegetables, and eggs. Professionally processed food such as jams, jellies, syrups, beans, and popcorn can also be gleaned this way.

Gleaning from a Community Garden

In 2019, John Jemison created the UMaine Extension publication, Bulletin #4311, Planning and Managing a Community “Giving” Garden in Maine. This resource is available online and covers all aspects of a garden built primarily to give back to the community. Several counties have used this model with variations to provide food hyper-locally. In some cases, a harvest crop is distributed, while in other cases, the gardeners help grow the food and then become the recipients as well.

Spot/Opportunity Gleans

A spot glean has great potential because often, excess produce is available at very short notice on short-season crops. Coordinating a response quickly can be both challenging and rewarding. These crops include fruit such as stone fruit, berries, and tree fruit, as well as high-tonnage crops with no market at the time they are ripe. For example, strawberries that ripen after the “pick-your-own” closes, as well as peas and green beans that ripen late. The last-minute nature means that the organization needs to be done ahead of time and then put in a “holding pattern” until the farmer gives notice of the need to glean. Here is some information on how Cumberland County handles this sort of glean. 

The Cumberland County Gleaning Initiative determines a spot glean process before the season gets underway, and then, when they get the okay from the farmer, the plan goes into action. 

In York County, as well as Downeast, Master Gardener Volunteers have partnered with local apple orchards for years, typically in the late summer and early fall. Preseason contact is made with local orchards, whose managers contact the gleaning coordinator when their fields are ready for picking. During the late summer, another team member contacts local pantries to determine whether they would like to receive apples during the season and how much they can handle. Gleaning teams are scheduled to pick every week (or as determined by the farm) during the season at partner farms. Gleaning teams are also “on call” and able to pick apples with shorter notice for other farms that choose to host gleaners on an as-needed basis. Apples are either transported to a central location (such as a parking lot or storage facility) where local pantry representatives pick up bushel baskets, or a volunteer distributes them to the pantries. 

Apple picking is a way to engage families, school groups, and community groups in gleaning. This is a user-friendly method for gathering food for various purposes. The apples (or pears or berries) can be picked for fresh eating or processed into pies for fundraising to fund holiday food baskets.

Miscellaneous Gleaning Variations

Gleaning is a term that can cover a lot of food sourcing or recovery. In addition to regular gleaning on farms, seasonal opportunities exist. In Maine, spring presents opportunities to gather and distribute seeds, seedlings, and stored root vegetables from farms to pantries and other sites. Midsummer is the time for harvesting berries and crops to prepare for succession planting. This is when early-season crops are harvested (peas, onions, garlic, radishes, and greens), and there is still time to plant a second crop in that same space. For example, harvest peas planted in early spring and plant carrots that will be harvested in late September.

Late summer is when squash, beans, flowers, and corn are typically in season. Fall is the season of hard squash, root vegetables, and potatoes, which are long-lasting storage crops. In the fall, apples are also a natural “group glean” for schools, companies, and families. Apple picking is a fall tradition, and this is a good “first glean” for new groups of volunteers. Gleaning can occur in test fields after data has been gathered at educational farms or even at farms that are growing plants to test for seed production. In Maine, Johnny’s Seeds has always been very generous when it comes to gleaning their fields.

Glean to Pantry/Food Bank

Many federal food distribution programs rely heavily on processed and packaged foods. Fresh produce fills a need that larger food banks, which rely on federal food sources, cannot always address. Gleaning stands out as a path to local food that can, at times, be fresher than what is purchased at a grocery store. Where the food ends up has as much variation as where the food came from. Gleaning is about relationships and leveraging connections to get the food to its best first use.

Food Distribution Variations

Some gleaning groups work with farmers to deliver produce directly to local pantries. This method provides fresh produce, often picked on the same day. This requires coordination to ensure that when produce is gleaned and/or picked up from a farm, the pantry has the capacity to receive it. Variables to consider include: 

• storage capacity of the pantry/pantries
• whether cold storage is available
• the average number of clients 
• the hours the pantry is open

Communication is key. Farmers do not want to worry about these details, so a well-run gleaning organization takes care of all the coordination. The farmer knows that their crop is going to a local food site. It is always a good idea to get the farmer and the food site volunteers together in the off-season. Knowing who you are growing for or where the food is coming from adds to the experience for everyone.

The York County Master Gardener Maine Harvest for Hunger Team uses a food pantry list that is updated annually as a guide for volunteers delivering produce, which includes names, addresses, contact phone numbers, and notes about each site.

• Sample Pantry List (Google Sheet) – This spreadsheet serves as a template that others can easily copy and adapt for their own use.
• Maine Food Access Map (Maine.gov) – Created in partnership with Ending Hunger Corps—an AmeriCorps program within Maine DACF—and food security organizations across the state, the Maine Food Access Map connects individuals and families with nearby food resources.

Glean to Institution/Partner Organizations

Some produce is harvested with specific objectives in mind. Timing, overabundance, or small amounts of multiple items may lend themselves to different destinations. A variety of produce makes more sense for a congregate living site than for a large pantry. A lot of a single produce item is best sent to a location that can handle that volume quickly or has the storage capacity to distribute it over time.

Gleaning for Sharing Tables

Medium to large quantities of seasonal items are a great match for sharing tables. These are tables set up regularly for a short time (hours) to provide no-barrier access to local food for anyone who needs it. These sharing tables can be set up at a community gathering place, such as a library or community center. Sometimes these sites evolve into longer-term spaces that can include coolers or even refrigerators, such as the Waldo County Bounty Share Shed network’s Give and Take page, which are semi-permanent during the growing season.

Glean to a Meal Site

Many different items in small amounts are a great match for a local “chef” at a meal site, community center, or homeless shelter to use to create the “soup of the day” or that night’s casserole. This plan allows for creative and tasty alternatives for congregate meal sites. A very good example of the variety possible with this model is the Harpswell Aging at Home program. Lunches with Friends, Sharing Tables, and Cooking with Friends programs rely on gleaned produce. Other examples might include dropping off finished meals or sandwiches leftover from a school cafeteria lunch program to a soup kitchen for the evening meal.

Glean to Storage/Processing

Large quantities of produce during times of abundance provide an opportunity to store or process for later distribution. Processing should be minimal, and storage should be simple. Apples become applesauce, beans can be frozen, and squash is peeled, cut, and frozen. Any processing should be done in a licensed kitchen under professional supervision.

This is where the relationship between meal/food distribution sites and gleaners is best leveraged. If the common goal is to get fresh food to those who need it, the path forward becomes clear. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA, FDA website) dictates safe practices for harvest, postharvest handling, and sanitation, as described in the Cornell GAPs sanitation and postharvest handling decision tree. The gleaning coordinator or farm/team leader should maintain a list of food distribution programs (Google Sheets) that the group regularly delivers to, along with their specific needs. 

Roles

This section highlights the various roles involved in gleaning and the corresponding activities for each of these groups. 

• Volunteers are the largest group of people involved in gleaning.
• Farm/team leaders are the volunteers’ connections to the farms.
• Farmers are a crucial part of the gleaning puzzle.

Gleaning coordinators tie all the projects together and serve as the glue for the relationships created through gleaning.

Volunteers

Gleaning groups are composed primarily of volunteers. Volunteers perform different roles depending on the size of the farms, the number of recipient groups, and the location of the gleaning. Gleaning can involve a single person harvesting food in their yard and bringing it to a local pantry, or 20 people in a group clearing out an orchard at the end of the apple-picking season. Gleaning is not a one-size-fits-all activity, but there are many common things every gleaning situation calls for, and many of those activities are volunteer-based.

Training and Expectations 

The resource Gleaning Guidelines for Maine Harvest for Hunger covers the general aspects of gleaning for volunteers in the field. Although each glean may be different, being prepared will make every glean successful.

Timing is a crucial part of gleaning. Often, the fields being gleaned may have already been harvested by the farmer, but the leftover produce may not be ready yet or may not have grown to a salable size. The team leader will be the person speaking with the farmer and gathering information on what will be harvested that day. Following directions (what to pick, where to pick, how to pick, etc.) is crucial. UMaine Extension has many food safety educational resources.

• Visit the Bulletin 4303 “A Donor’s Guide to Vegetable Harvest” for general information on harvesting produce.
• Visit Bulletin #4135, “Storage Conditions: Fruits and Vegetables” for postharvest information.

Gleaning may require handling large quantities of raw food. There are well-researched guidelines for handling food at harvest made specifically for farm workers to prevent food safety issues. The resource Employee Health, Hygiene, and Sanitary Practices is intended for farm employees, but it is also a research-based resource of food safety information that has been adapted for gleaning volunteers to review. This resource includes a video from Rutgers University, Gleaner Produce Safety Training: Protecting Those You Serve (YouTube), specifically on food safety during gleaning in the field. 

In addition to food safety, the health and safety of the gleaner is equally important. This series of videos covers techniques to achieve both goals. 

• Safe Handwashing Techniques (YouTube)
• Safe Lifting Techniques (YouTube)
• Safe Stretching Techniques (YouTube)
• Safe Harvesting Techniques (YouTube)

Gleaning can be hard physical labor in which the gleaner’s body is their tool. A good craftsman always takes care of their tools.

Transportation/Pantry Volunteers

Once produce is gleaned, it must be delivered to a location for distribution. Transportation volunteers are vital in ensuring that gleaned produce can be distributed while still fresh. These volunteers perform different roles depending on where the gleaned produce is picked up and the type and number of locations receiving the produce. 

Transportation volunteers generally use their vehicles. Small trucks, vans, and hatchback cars are the most flexible vehicles. When larger gleans or group gleans are conducted, it may be possible for a larger vehicle from the receiving organization to pick up.

Transportation/pantry volunteers may be asked to pick up from: 

• a farm at the end of a glean/harvest  
• a farm stand (usually after hours)
• a farmers market by visiting individual stalls

These volunteers may deliver to one or more destinations, which can have their challenges at times:

• Food pantry hours and receiving details vary by site.
• Keeping produce at the right temperature during transportation can be tricky.

The resource, Delivery and Receiving of Fresh Produce for Gleaners, goes over delivery and transportation considerations. Time, temperature, and safety are just some of the important considerations.

Additionally, pantry volunteers may be asked to assist in preparing the food for distribution. This may include washing produce or sorting and distributing food into bags for recipients. All of this should be covered by training from the pantry organization. A good example of a volunteer handbook can be found in the MidCoast Hunger Prevention Program (PDF) on their website.

Farm/Team Leader

A very successful model for gleaning used by many groups is to have a farm or team leader for each gleaning event. In some areas, there are regular weekly gleanings, and the farm/team leader is the person responsible for communicating with the farmer regularly. This person also coordinates the volunteers at the glean. They will be responsible for documenting what was gleaned (type of produce, weight harvested, and its destination). Documentation is a big part of this volunteer’s job.

This Gleaning Team Leader Checklist was adapted with permission from Merrymeeting Gleaners. It incorporates parts of several checklists used over the years by various gleaning groups. There are many ways to adapt it to fit a particular group. As the connector between the gleaners, the farmer, and the recipients, the farm/team leader is often the primary point of contact for any issues that arise on the day of the glean. 

Harvest and postharvest food safety is the responsibility of the team leader in charge at the glean. Food safety addresses the handling of food from the farm to the ultimate client, the person who eats it. Procedures to keep the food safe through this process are vital.

Reporting the Glean

Once the glean is completed, the farm/team leader still has a few more tasks to attend to. For both planning and reporting purposes, there should be a process in place to document what has happened at the glean. Some groups use paper forms, some use an app or computer form, and some use a phone call, but all should be tracking the following information:

• name of farm or source
• date of glean
• number/names of volunteers
• time/total hours for the glean (including delivery)
• what was gleaned by item and by pound

An example as follows: Gleaning HB Post-Glean Report Template – Responses (Google Sheets), which one group has used. There are many variations for tracking this kind of work, but a best practice is to track each glean as it happens or immediately afterward to ensure timely data and information for the coordinators and farmers.

Farmers

Volunteers on the Farm

It is always the individual farmer’s decision whether to allow volunteers to glean on their farm. Produce can be harvested and donated without having volunteers set foot on the farm. However, volunteers can also harvest, weigh, and track gleaned produce, reducing the amount of work for the farmer and their employees.

When inviting volunteers to your farm, consider what format works best for you and your organization. How often do you want volunteers to glean? How many volunteers can glean at a time? Do you prefer scheduled gleans (every Tuesday/Thursday at 9:00 a.m.), or a “spot glean” (one time to clean out the field)? The farm/team leader coordinates volunteers once you have determined when and where you want them.

Food Safety on the Farm

Food safety is the underlying thread in the distribution of fresh produce. The horror stories on the news grab people’s attention, but the reality is that the U.S. food system is among the safest on earth. 

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was passed in 2011, and in 2016, implementation began. Although not every farm is subject to FSMA, the concepts behind it make good business and common sense when handling fresh produce. The Maine Farmer Resource Network offers a primer on Managing Risks and Farm Safety, which covers various aspects of risk minimization. One resource, Understanding FSMA, is a valuable source for a wealth of food safety resources suitable for all farm sizes and types. The Farm/Team Leader section of this handbook explores safety and sanitation from a gleaner’s perspective.

Liability Considerations

To understand what to expect when gleaning happens on the farm, refer to the USDA Fact Sheet on Gleaning (PDF). It has a definition of gleaning from a risk management perspective. A Gleaning Guide for Farmers (National Gleaning Project), provides a clear and concise explanation of gleaning and its impact on farmers. This guide primarily addresses the liability of farmers when food is donated. All current law regarding farmer liability is based on the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act (visit pages 3-10 of the Legal Guide to Food Recovery 2013 (PDF)) and this USDA list of answers to frequently asked questions. The Food Recovery Project at the University of Arkansas School of Law offers a more holistic view of food system issues. “The Food Recovery Project supports efforts to enhance sustainability and justice in the U.S. food system by examining laws and proposing new policies that promote food conservation” (p. 1). These issues are examined in light of federal law. 

Maine has two laws similar to the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act that address liability under state law. The first establishes immunity for certain food donations (Maine.gov, 2009). The second statute establishes limited liability for recreational or harvesting activities (Maine.gov, 1995), which addresses the presence of volunteers on the farm. 

Other Maine-specific laws that may impact gleaning in the state include An Act To Feed Maine’s Residents by Allowing Dairy Dealers and Producers in the State To Donate Fresh Milk to Food Banks in the State, June 2019 (Maine.gov). Additionally, the Maine Roadmap to End Hunger by 2030 (Maine.gov PDF) may influence the development of more laws related to food recovery.

• Maine Food Access Map (Maine.gov) – Created in partnership with Ending Hunger Corps—an AmeriCorps program within Maine DACF—and food security organizations across the state, the Maine Food Access Map connects individuals and families with nearby food resources.

Tax Considerations

It is reasonable to expect that a gleaning group is tracking the produce harvested and distributed from your farm. A best practice is for that group to recap for you at the end of each year what was donated. This information may help at tax time, depending on how your farm is structured financially. Working with your accountant, you can leverage this information.

Federal Taxes

ReFed, a national nonprofit focused on eliminating food waste, has the most up-to-date information on enhanced tax deductions for farmers (updated July 2025) in its worksheet on the Federal Tax Incentives page (Policy Finder). It is recommended that you also use your accountant’s advice in acting on these incentives.

State Taxes

Maine state tax law LD 1534 gives tax credits for donated farm produce or goods. It also requires the Department of Environmental Protection to maintain a food recovery database. Although the law was enacted (signed by default), it could become active as soon as it is funded. It is recommended to check with your accountant yearly to learn how tax laws may have changed.

Gleaning Coordinator

A successful gleaning program can grow rapidly and become a vital part of a community’s response to its members experiencing food insecurity. At some point, the ability to capture all the potential available resources to meet these needs becomes a logistical problem that requires coordination. This is where a gleaning coordinator becomes a real asset to a program. Vermont’s Salvation Farms is considered the cutting edge of food system innovation. Many of Maine’s gleaning programs looked to this group for advice and mentoring in establishing a gleaning coordinator. 

A gleaning coordinator typically has a regional focus, rather than just one town or area. The Maine Gleaning Network and the UMaine Extension program, Maine Harvest for Hunger, typically have county coordinators, where resources allow. This example of a recent Gleaning Coordinator Position Overview highlights the various activities and skills required for this role. Not all programs are large enough to require a coordinator, so in such situations, a volunteer or farm team leader may fulfill some or all of these roles.

The coordinator’s responsibilities may include:

• volunteer training and coordination
• daily/weekly coordination of gleans and deliveries
• impact reporting and funding 
• long-range planning and program development
• connecting the gleaning group and other similar groups in the state. 

A team can also serve in the role of gleaning coordinator. This situation often occurs when a gleaning program is first created. At this point, most, if not all, of those involved are volunteers, and gleaning might occur only one or two days a week. The team approach is best suited for technology-savvy volunteers because it should appear seamless to the outside world that multiple people, not just one, are doing the coordination.

Volunteer Training and Coordination

Onboarding and training new and existing volunteers generally involve teaching best practices for harvesting and handling food, and around farmer/food source relationships. 

Sanitation and Best Practices When Handling Food

Much of this information is covered in the Team Leader section. The Employee Health, Hygiene, and Sanitary Practices resource was created specifically for farm workers, but also addresses best practices for handling food safely. This should help a gleaning coordinator understand the farmer and farmworker perspectives as well.

Maintaining Records to Support the Program

The gleaning coordinator will maintain records that may include liability waivers, photo release forms, policy agreements, and volunteer guidelines. There are links for templates of these documents in the guide, Eight Steps to Gleaning Success, adapted with permission from the Merrymeeting Food Council. There are always ways to simplify the paperwork, which is always a good thing for both volunteers and coordinators. The gleaning coordinator also typically maintains listings of volunteers, farmers, and distribution sites, along with their contact information.

Gleaning coordinators are often called on to report the impacts of their program. These impacts can be shown in various ways. The gleaning reports track what is gleaned and how much (in pounds). The pounds gleaned yearly is a typical gleaning point of reference. The number of volunteer hours is also often used when assessing a gleaning program. There are USDA guidelines for converting a pound of each kind of fruit or vegetable into servings. UMaine Extension converted this into a Gleaning HB Pounds to Servings Calculator (Google Sheet) for use in impact reporting. Fresh produce is a high-value food in the food security space. The value of this commodity moves yearly with the market. Most impact assessments use the Feeding America website value, which changes each year. In 2023, it was $1.93 per pound. 

Impact reporting can often be strengthened by sharing success stories.

Building Farmer and Gleaner Partnerships

The legal and tax resources related to gleaning are primarily covered in the Farmers section. The gleaning coordinator needs to familiarize themselves with this information. In addition, labor law and the use of volunteers in farm businesses can be complicated. Some farmers may have some misconceptions and ambiguity around these issues, and the coordinator should respect the farmer’s decision to run their business as they prefer. Some gleaning organizations periodically survey their farmers to get a better idea of how to strengthen their relationship. Other ways to communicate could include roundtable discussions or community meetings of farmers, volunteers, and pantry staff.

A gleaning coordinator can help the farmer qualify for all possible tax breaks and donation credits by keeping and sharing accurate records of each season’s gleans. Ideally, there should be a process in place to capture and share the following information with the farmer annually:

• total pounds gleaned
• total volunteer hours
• number and name of farm/source partners
• number and name of food distribution points

A truly exceptional program could have processes in place to capture:

• pounds of food gathered by type
• number of volunteers and hours worked on each glean occasion
• number of hours volunteered by each volunteer
• total pounds and value of the produce gleaned from the farm

The information gathered for each farm can be assembled for reporting impact. This is the best way to illustrate the benefits to all parties involved in the work that is being done.

Farmers always appreciate a simple thank-you note at the end of the season. A Thank You Letter with information they can share with their accountant shows the impact their donations have made speaks volumes.

Success Stories

Home Garden

Chris’s Garden in Androscoggin County is home to a Master Gardener volunteer named Chris who just loves to garden. As her family grew and dispersed, her 40-foot-by-70-foot garden produced more food than Chris and her husband could eat. Since 2020, Chris has used her garden to grow food that is then donated through Androscoggin Gleaners. So far, her garden has donated more than 800 pounds of fresh produce. Chris is now enlarging the garden and inviting other Master Gardener volunteers to join her on this project.

Community Gardens

The Yarmouth Community Garden started in 2003 as a grassroots organization. Several Yarmouth residents shared their ideas and dreams of creating a community garden, where they could donate produce to local residents. A steering committee was formed, and the town council approved the use of approximately 2.5 acres of land, complete with an old well. With the help of 15 volunteers, a community garden was formed, and approximately 500 pounds of produce were grown and distributed that first year. In 2004, the rental plot portion of the garden was established. By 2023, in addition to 135 rental plots and a dedicated children’s garden, the community plot (or food donation garden) will grow and distribute 3,000-4,000 pounds of organic vegetables each year to a local food pantry and senior housing.

Spot Gleans in Cumberland County

The Cumberland County Gleaning Initiative organizes opportunity/spot gleaning throughout the farm season. Many farms are unsure of which crops they will have an excess of until just before they need to turn over the field, or before the crop will rot or bolt. When this happens, farmers will text or email one of the gleaning coordinators, telling them what they have, how much they have, and when the ideal time would be for gleaning. At the beginning of the season, we advise farmers that the most notice possible is best, but we often receive only a couple of days’ notice. Parking availability, the quantity of produce, and the type of produce (as well as the time it takes to glean) all factor into determining how many volunteers the gleaning coordinator requests. The coordinator asks the farmer if they have an ideal number of volunteers or a maximum amount. 

The gleaning coordinator then reaches out to the volunteer list, which consists of individuals who have signed up on our website to be gleaners. These volunteers have all signed safety waivers and given us an emergency contact. The gleaning coordinator also emails the opportunity to the Cumberland County Master Gardeners. Occasionally, the coordinator will post the opportunity on social media if many people are needed. Volunteers sign up on the signup.com website. The day before the glean, the coordinator sends a reminder email to the volunteers, including details about the farm’s location, parking, and any items they should bring. The coordinator ensures that the group or the farm has all the necessary harvesting tools, and always includes a phone number in case someone is running late or gets lost. 

After the glean, it makes sense to write up notes about that particular commodity so that if the call comes again the next season, the information is readily available.

Collaboration with Food Pantries

York County has had an active Maine Harvest for Hunger program for over 25 years. The article below from 2017 illustrates the collaboration of the volunteers, the farmers, and the pantries. 

Apple Gleans in the Midcoast

The Merrymeeting Gleaners are continually growing their gleaning efforts. In the Apple Gleaning Video (Google Drive mp4), some of the group discusses apple gleaning. This is a great introductory gleaning activity that families can enjoy. Many county and Master Gardener volunteer groups in Maine glean apples at orchards when the “pick your own” season ends. These apples find their way into backpack programs, are processed and frozen for winter use, or are even stored for holiday pies at many meal sites.

Growing Maine Harvest for Hunger

In 2024, 478 Maine Harvest for Hunger volunteers grew, gleaned, and distributed 258,731 pounds of produce, valued at $509,701, to 408 food security agencies across the state. They partnered with 318 farms, community gardens, and individuals and celebrated the 4-million-pound milestone since the program’s inception. 

They engage a diverse team of volunteers, including those with lived experience of food insecurity, to directly address hunger in their communities. For example, one of our partners, the Androscoggin Gleaning Coordinator, shared:

For the most up-to-date information on Maine Harvest for Hunger gleaning impacts, visit the Maine Harvest for Hunger website.

Additional Gleaning Resources

General

• Salvation Farms Vermont Gleaning Guide (Salvation Farms, PDF)
• The US Food Waste Policy Finder (ReFed)
  • This includes further links, including food waste legislation and other resources.
• The National Gleaning Project (Center for Agriculture and Food Systems) is a national database of state-specific resources. The project’s legal and policy resources cover the country in a regional configuration. The National Gleaning Project: Guide to the Online Gleaning Resources Hub (2018, PDF) is a lengthy guide to online resources, including laws by state.
• Fact Sheet on Gleaning (USDA, PDF)
• Gleaning Kit from 2010 (USDA, PDF)
• The Association of Gleaning Organizations is a loose network of gleaning groups.
• Maine Food Access Map (Maine.gov) – Created in partnership with Ending Hunger Corps—an AmeriCorps program within Maine DACF—and food security organizations across the state, the Maine Food Access Map connects individuals and families with nearby food resources.

Food Distribution Variations

• University of Maine Cooperative Extension Bulletin #4311, Planning and Managing a Community “Giving” Garden in Maine
• Gleaning at Your Market (Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets)
• Maine School Garden Network
• Maine Farm and Sea to Institution is a network that supports schools, hospitals, colleges, and other institutions with the focus of serving more locally sourced food.

Tracking What Is Gleaned and Reporting Impacts

• Gleaning Toolkit (Garden Gleaning, PDF)
• Tracking Kentucky (Track It Forward)
• Stop Waste (Stop Food Waste, PDF, refer to page 14)

Food Safety

• Safe and Healthy Food Pantries Project (Extension University of Wisconsin-Madison, PDF)
• Food Safety Resource Clearinghouse

Supplemental Resources to Handbook

• Eight Steps to Gleaning Success
• Gleaning Guidelines for Maine Harvest for Hunger
• Gleaning Coordinator Position Overview
• Health, Hygiene, and Sanitary Practices
• Gleaning Team Leader Checklist
• Delivery and Receiving of Fresh Produce for Gleaners
• Thank You Letter

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