They come to the fields in flip-flops and Ts instead of spandex and capes, but they are super-heroes nonetheless. Tipping her head to the side and squinting – the sun just burning through an early-morning haze – 12-year-old Kristin considers this.
Nope, she concludes. “I just like helping people and getting community service hours,” she says. Kristin and little brother Michael have come with their mom and a group of others to help Terry Delaney and Earl McCutcheon of Santa Ynez Valley Fruit and Vegetable Rescue (Veggie Rescue) glean a lettuce field on Nojoqui Farms last week.
Veggie Rescue is a Valley non-profit and the brainchild of Delaney. The mission is simple: “We redirect and ‘glean’ local produce from farms, farmers markets, home gardens and orchards and deliver them to organizations in need at no cost to them,” he says.
McCutcheon explains that his research shows that about 40% of what is grown goes to waste – in the sense it never makes it to the table. While it would be nice if everything in the field ripened at the same moment, and grew in perfect uniform shape, that just isn’t the case.
So after the farmers sweep through their fields, there is plenty left for the picking. It just isn’t cost-effective for them to do it. Enter Veggie Rescue – a 99% volunteer organization. With their groups of eager helpers and at the invitation of local farms, they come through after the initial harvest and before the remainders are plowed under to become fertilizer for the next planting.
“I’m literally humbled when I stand in the fields and see how perfect their vegetables are,” says Delaney. On this day he thinks he has misunderstood the directions, because the farm’s own workers are in the field harvesting. He calls the farm manager to confirm. No, he has it right. They can have whatever they can pick from that field.
The veggies are picked or ‘gleaned,’ boxed in the field and delivered immediately to local charities and schools. There are no expensive warehouses or employees to pay for, and since they don’t process the food in any way, even their insurance costs are low, says Delaney. The only overhead is a part-time bookkeeper. And while they have their fingers crossed a refrigerated van might one day soon become a reality, for now they load the goods in Delaney or McCutcheon’s truck. The men will deliver the boxes directly to schools, senior citizens’ centers or local charities, so the only unloading happens at the final destination. “I’ve been in the food business all my life,” says Delaney, whose primary occupation is selling seafood. He sees life in three phases: learn, earn, return. “I’m in the return phase,” he says. This is his way of giving back.
Last year, the one and only gleaning team delivered 2,489 boxes, some 104,000 pounds of produce. In times of tight budgets, it is hard to calculate the cost savings to those on the other end. The goal this year is to see significant increases in all four areas: participating farms (farm markets or home farmers), gleaners, receiving institutions and boxes picked.
With the ongoing effects of the recession: high unemployment, people losing their homes, coupled with cutbacks in charitable donations, Delaney sees nothing but an increase in need ahead, a need he has no doubt – with a little help – he can make strong gains toward filling.
But there is another upside beyond feeding the hungry for both those receiving the goods and those making it happen. People get to try things they might not otherwise have an opportunity to, and because most of what they glean is organic – and fresher than what you can purchase in the market – they develop a taste for healthy foods.
Lauri Nuzzolillo explains how her son went with her on one glean where they picked butternut squash. “He didn’t even know what that was before,” but now he readily recognizes it in the grocery store and asks for it. “Everybody takes a bag of something home, so they get to taste what’s going out,” explains Delaney. “Last time we had beats and beautiful carrots and lettuce.”
It is the crooked carrots delivered to Solvang School that are a particular hit. But those feeding the elderly are thrilled with being able to offer a salad bar, says Delaney. At the senior center in Buellton, there is a glass-door refrigerator Veggie Rescue keeps full so those in need can bring produce to their tables at home. For some of the “odd ball” stuff, Delaney delivers recipes along with the produce because the chefs might not know what do with it otherwise. For similar reasons, he is working on arranging a field trip to Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo for some of the chefs “– just to keep them inspired,” and because there is no way the charities can afford to send them.
Delaney is also excited about the prospects of working with another local charity – NatureTrack. Together they will afford an opportunity for local school kids to visit area farms to see and learn about how their produce is grown. There are many new things on the horizon for Veggie Rescue.
Sophia joins this gleaning with her grandma, Linda Vathayanon – the best grandma ever, Sophia says. They work as a team. Vathayanon stoops to cut the lettuce with the sharp knife provided, then hands the heads to Sophia. With little hands, Sophia peels off any damaged outside leaves to ease the workload for the chefs who will receive them.
Turning, the 9-year-old tries not to slip in the mud as she places the bundle of three heads-down in the box, so it can be easily watered later. The runner takes the full box to load in the truck while Sophia turns back to receive another assortment from her grandma. There are at least four kinds of lettuce they are picking this day.
“This is a hard job,” says Allie Smith, who has come with her husband, Paul. “It makes me appreciate my food.”
“It makes me appreciate the farmer,” says Paul, “and the picker.” But mostly the group just seems to appreciate the chance to spend time as a family, giving back and gaining all at once.
Delaney places a full box in the back of his truck. “Lettuce is like feathers,” he says of its weight. Just the same, he expects they will pick 500 to 600 pounds before they are done. He turns and leans against the tailgate, pausing for a moment to survey the field of volunteer pickers. He smiles.
Grabbing water bottles to share, he heads back to the field. There is still so much more to be done. For more information or to volunteer, visit svyfvr.org.