Leave Your Leftovers for the Gleaners

Kelly Brignac

by Kelly Brignac
October 21, 2009

If you have ever wondered where the left-over food at local area restaurants goes, now is the time to learn. Gleaners is a nonprofit organization that Jackson resident Gloria Martinson started out of her kitchen in 1986. Last year the organization salvaged 1 million pounds of food on only a $60,000 budget. Gleaners picks up food that local restaurants, grocery stores and even the Millsaps College cafeteria discard and redistributes it to shelters, non-profits and transitional living facilities such as Grace House.

Run entirely by volunteers, Gleaners plays the important role of food broker between food sellers and food donors. Operations Manager Nancy Willis has worked at Gleaners for more than 10 years on a strictly volunteer basis.

Here, we follow the path of a single banana that Gleaners picks up from the Kroger off Interstate 55, the largest single source of food for Gleaners, and redistributes it to local shelters.

Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009
8:33 a.m.
One of the Gleaners’ six trucks, all donated by UPS, departs from the Gleaners headquarters for the Kroger of I-55. Alton Cobb, who has served as CEO on a volunteer basis for eight years, drives. Two volunteers, including one teenager, ride along to assist Cobb with the pick-up. Many of the Gleaners volunteers are regulars; others simply drop in occasionally.

8:46 a.m.
The Gleaners truck arrives at Kroger. The volunteers disperse to different departments, such as meat and produce. In these departments, the volunteers pick up food that would otherwise be thrown away, including a banana, and loads it into the truck to be taken to Gleaners. According to Feed America, one in eight Americans are at risk for hunger; this unsellable food from Kroger saves many from starving.

9:03 a.m.
The truck arrives back at headquarters, located at 359 N. Mart Plaza. Cobb and the volunteers unload the truck. Volunteers weigh the banana as soon as it enters the Gleaners building, and credits Kroger for the net weight of the donation. Because Kroger donates much of its expired food, Gleaners can feed a small number of the 35 million hungry Americans.

9:07 a.m.
One of the many volunteers inspects the banana. Volunteers include residents from all over the metro area. They will throw away the banana—or any other food item—if it’s not suitable for consumption. Gleaners sends only good quality food to the local shelters.

9:09 a.m.
Volunteers place the banana on one of the many shelves and tables that line the room. They place other refrigerated food items, such as meat and dairy, in a walk-in refrigerator, and frozen items in a similar walk-in freezer. The next day, volunteers distribute the food to individuals and families with and without children. According to feedamerica.org, nationwide in 2007, households with children reported a food insecurity rate of 15.8 percent, while households without children reported one of 8.7 percent.

Friday, Oct. 2, 2009
8:15 a.m.
Volunteers take the banana from the shelf and place it in one of the donated grocery baskets that line the walls of the room. Each day, Velcro nametags on the front of the baskets designate which shelter is picking up food for that day. Because this banana is destined for Grace House, the volunteer places it in the Grace House shopping cart. Gleaners divides all of the food it receives among the houses based on need.

11 a.m.
Once the volunteers sort all the food for the day, they weigh the amount of food that each shelter receives. They record the amount in a binder that rests on a table near the door. As a result, the manager of Gleaners keep track of which shelter uses what amount of food. These shelters give food to the many hungry Jacksonians; Mississippi ranked seventh in a national list of food insecurity between 2005 and 2007, according to Feed America statistics.

11:15 a.m.
A representative from Grace House comes to Gleaners to pick up the banana and the rest of the food. She places the banana in the trunk of the representative’s car and takes it to Grace House, where residents use it to prepare a meal. Other than a banana, the residents may receive doughnuts, lettuce, hot dogs, chicken and other food items. Shelters like Grace House and Gleaners play a vital role in helping the 17.4 percent of Mississippians who live with food insecurity (http://www.feedamerica.org).

The course of a single banana demonstrates the good work Gleaners does for the Jackson community. By serving as the median between donors and receivers, Gleaners provides an important service function to Jackson; without this middleman, a large amount of food would not be redistributed.

Willis expresses enthusiasm for welcoming new volunteers. If you are looking for a laid-back, fun environment to volunteer in, Gleaners is certainly for you. Many of the volunteers have known each other for years and constantly tease one another while working. After all, according to Willis, volunteering is not only for the unfortunate. It must also be a pleasant experience for the volunteer, and Gleaners meets this requirement.

For information, contact Gleaners at 601-981-4240.