Pierce County Gleaning Project

Pierce County Gleaning Project
Tacoma, WA
ph: 253-282-8910
MattP@piercecountycd.org

Home

Check out our cool new project!

The Sumner Veggie Coop:

The veggie coop is designed to give urban/suburban residents a chance to experience and experiment with agricultural/gardening techniques in a hands on educational environment. Coop members will work together to grow a substantial crop on land graciously provided by the Sumner Community Farm, donating 50% of the harvest to food banks and dividing the rest into equitable shares on a weekly basis. The farm is located just outside of downtown Sumner off 167, a 20 minute drive from Tacoma.
For the pilot season of this project, we are capping membership at 25 individuals.

By the end of the season coop members will have:

Applicable knowledge of growing techniques that are transferable to an urban setting
Received a decent amount of produce from their shares
Increased access and availability of healthy produce for there neighbors by donating food to food banks, hot meal sites, and other programs

Coop member Requirements:

Attend at least one 3-4 hour work party a week. Work parties will be Wednesdays 8am-12pm and Saturdays 8am-12pm (allowed to miss 4 over the season)
Attend Farm Gleans when available (counts as weekly work party)
Donate 50% of the harvest to food banks, hot meal sites, and other organizations.
Commitment to whole season (June-October)
Work alongside other participants in a communal environment.

Process:

Register for Coop by - we still have a few spots left. Attend Interest Meeting on June 3rd (6:30 at the Community Gardens offices in Wright Park) - at this meeting we will decide on working agreement, work party days, planting choices, and planting schedule will be decided at this meeting! If your are interested in joining but cannot make this meeting, let me know and we can make other arrangements!
First Site visit on June 8th, drip-line setup,and squash planting

Feel free to call/email with questions!
Matt (Gleaning Coordinator)
253-282-8910
MattP@piercecountycd.org

What Do We Glean?

Neighborhood Fruit Trees

Have you ever seen fruit on your neighborhood's trees ripen beautifully, only to go unpicked, rot, and fall on the ground? Get involved with our second year of harvesting from neighborhood fruit trees in and around Tacoma!

Farms

This is our third year for on-farm gleans in the lush Puyallup Valley!

Gardens

With seed donated from Ed Hume Seeds, Territorial Seed Co., Terra Organics, Seed Savers Exchange, and the America the Beautiful Fund, we launch an annual "Plant a Row for the Hungry/Share the Harvest" campaign in collaboration with the Community Garden Program- where we give out seeds and plant starts to local gardeners planting a row for their local food bank!

What is Gleaning?

Gleaning is harvesting produce left over in fields and gardens after the main harvest. For centuries, "field gleaning" has been a vital source of food for people in poverty. Gleaning programs are becoming more popular ways to provide local, healthy produce to food banks around the country.

Why Glean?

Cut Waste in a country where over 25-50% of commercially-grown food goes to waste every year.

Feed People with the bounty of the county. Clients at Pierce county food banks rose by nearly 46% from 2008-2010.

Have extra produce to donate? Food banks near youneed fresh produce!

Web Hosting by Yahoo!