Since its inception, SETP has been committed to educating the community about fruit tree care and food preservation. They have offered a variety of classes such as fruit tree pruning, apple cider vinegar making, and best fruit varieties for the Inland Northwest. Many individuals in…
Contact the Tree Owner SETP always gets permission before gleaning. Gather information about the tree(s) and the property with assistance from the tree owner. Details to gather: Tree owner’s contact information Tree types Number of trees Tree heights Location of the trees on the property…
Spokane Edible Tree Project expanded their produce recovery efforts to include the local farmers’ market in 2017. Twice a week, SETP volunteers arrived at the Spokane Farmers’ Market at closing time to pick up donations from vendors. Here’s how it worked during its inaugural year:…
Special Note** culls that are not significantly damaged but not market quality can be safely recovered with small groups of volunteers properly trained in food safety. Not a family-friendly event but an efficient way to recover produce. This can be a messy and physical event,…
Anywhere where there is an accumulation of food, there is waste, and can result in a need for gleaning! This can occur at a trucking company, farmers market, grocery store, farm, packaging warehouse, and even at produce stands. Anytime produce is accumulated, there can be…
Volunteer Specifics If gleaning in an orchard, most of the fruit will likely be in clusters only accessible by ladder, but some should still be accessible from the ground. Most groups or individuals participating in gleaning will come out for a few gleans and training…
U-pick orchards are a great gleaning resource because they are easy to access and often have harvesting materials on-site for your use. Also, U-pick growers can be a great asset for volunteer management because they work regularly with inexperienced pickers. The Yakima Valley Produce Harvest…
Volunteer Specifics If gleaning in an orchard, most of the fruit will likely be in clusters only accessible by ladder, but some should still be accessible from the ground. Most groups or individuals participating in gleaning will come out for a few gleans and training…
In 2012, Northwest Harvest piloted a donation booth at the Yakima Farmers Market. The booth operated as a partnership between Northwest Harvest and a different hunger relief program each week (food bank or meal program). These organizations, referred to as partner programs, used the opportunity…
Northwest Harvest’s Culls for Community program utilizes commercial growers’ existing disposal systems to recover edible but unmarketable produce (culls) in large quantities. Commercial farms typically sort produce in the field or in the packing shed to avoid accruing costs by shipping unmarketable produce to their…