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Mika is an AmeriCorps member serving in the Harvest VISTA Program focused on the sustainable agriculture and food programs. She is serving at the Blue Mountain Action Council as the Community Food Systems VISTA Coordinator in Walla Walla, Washington. Her service will help bring new relations for the BMAC food bank to bring fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, and dairy products from local farms to low-income communities. Her goal is to help alleviate poverty in the 5 surrounding counties by creating a lasting system to expand the organizational outreach through building networks and coordinating gleans.

On a warm Sunday morning in September, the AmeriCorps member at BMAC Food Bank was joined by 30+ members of the Whitman College Glean Team gathered at a residential orchard in Milton-Freewater, Oregon to help glean 715 lbs. of honey crisp apples. It was a great way to start off the new semester for the students and a fun autumn activity to do. Unfortunately, a lot of the crop was affected by weather and earwigs but the volunteers did a great job on gleaning through and getting the best produce possible.

The following day on a Monday afternoon, four BMAC Food Bank team members gleaned 1,562 lbs. of watermelons at Moonlight Melons in Walla Walla, Washington. The gleaned produce was all distributed to local food pantries or used for food bank distributions, where fresh produce is always in demand.

The biggest challenge has been coordinating a date and time that works with definite volunteer members and the farms. Since a lot of the farmers are on a tight schedule and battling with Mother Nature, planning gleans can often happen on a very short notice.

As the produce season is starting to wrap up, farmers are eager to have gleaners come out to collect produce from their fields before the first frost and start tilling the fields in preparation for the next growing season. More gleans are coming in October for tomatoes, peppers, and pumpkins!