Gleaning

If you are interested in joining the volunteer gleaning team or have questions about it, contact our Local Food Resources Coordinator via email at gleaning@foodforpeople.org or call (707) 445-3166, extension 312.

If you have fruit trees on your property and would like to donate some of the fruit to Food for People or have help from our gleaning team for the harvest, please register your trees in our Gleaning database by clicking here. We'll keep in touch with you before your trees ripen to make a harvest plan that works for you.            

Plant a Row for the Hungry is a way for anyone in our community to donate garden-grown produce to our Gleaning Program, from backyard gardens and orchards large and small. Simply drop off your donation at Food for People during business hours, contact us via our online gleaning donation form, request that volunteers help with a large harvest, or give us a call to find out where you can donate to a food pantry in your community. There are currently 18 pantries in our network, including our on-site Choice Pantry, and the list can be viewed by clicking here. Please visit our Plant a Row Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page for useful tips about the program, what we can do for you, and what produce we can or can't accept.

Food for People puts a high priority on distributing fresh fruits and vegetables, which are crucial for good health and preventing diet-related disease. Many of our program participants tell us that they can not afford to include fresh produce in their food budgets, and would not have access to it if it were not for what we provide. Our Nutrition Education program produces regular cooking videos (on our YouTube channel, social media, and our Nutrition & Recipes webpage) to demonstrate how to prepare healthy, low-cost meals using this seasonal produce. We also provide healthy recipes with every food distribution program, which can be found in our online recipe box. Learn more about our Nutrition Education program by clicking here.

Our gleaning staff and volunteers can usually help harvest your crop donation, or we can pick up pre-harvested donations from you. We also welcome drop-offs to our warehouse in Eureka during business hours. From small-scale farms to large operations, we have the capacity to glean any size farm.

How to communicate a crop donation to us:

Please click here to fill out our online gleaning donation form to tell us about a crop donation you'd like to make, or feel free to call our Local Food Resources Coordinator at (707) 445-3166, extension 312 or email @email.

What are are the laws regarding liability?

Please click here for information about the Federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, which protects you from liability when you donate food to our non-profit organization.

What types of tax credits or deductions can I receive for donating my farm crop to a food bank?

There may be tax credits or deductions for your donation to our Gleaning program. Please consult a tax professional to learn about what's possible for your situation this tax year.

If you would like donation poundage totals, whether for a single drop-off or a tax year total, please make sure you ask for a receipt every time you drop off produce to us at our facility, and leave us with your name and mailing address in the process. It will be noted in the carbon copy of the receipt, so that we can track your specific donation(s). Typically if we come to your farm, orchard, or location, we already have and track this information.

If you are interesting in helping us to access fresh, local produce, in turn supporting the local farming community that is so generous to us,consider making a financial contribution to the Locally Delicious Food Fund. This project was started thanks to a partnership with the authors of Locally Delicious: Recipes and Resources for Eating on the North Coast (seen in photo). The Locally Delicious Food Fund helps us contract with local farmers to grow high quality organic produce for food bank programs. Produce purchased through the fund supplies our senior and homebound food distribution programs with fresh produce that they would otherwise be unable to afford. Click here to learn more about the Locally Delicious Food Fund, its history, the authors, and how to get involved.

Video of Access to Health Food - Food for People