Saturday, January 16, 2021

Gleaning News 2021

 


GLEANING NEWS

The 2021 Gleaning Season has officially started – we did our first one this week under the COVID regulations – 240kilos of Potatoes collected.

We are routinely delivering to 20 different local food charity organisations and schools plus contributing to larger amounts going to Felix in London and FairShare in Kent

In 2020, we did 31 Gleans during the year and collected an amazing 10 tons of food.

Nationally ( we are part of the Feedback Gleaning Network ) the total was over 650 tons ! 

Thank you to all our volunteers for making this happen x

COVID & Volunteering

The new lockdown and advice on avoidable contact has meant we have to review our risk assessment for the gleans, especially with the more dangerous period that we are in.

Voluntary work is an exempted reason for leaving your home.

The latest advice from KCC is that all volunteers should be having regular lateral flow test for covid, at least every 14 days.

Some of us are doing these weekly because of other volunteering commitments.

Tests are quick and local at Dover Discovery Centre or Sandwich Guildhall.

You can book a test here

Each glean will have its own cap of volunteers depending on the site, parking arrangements and what the farmer wants to happen.

We will be trying to structure different ‘shifts’ between the groups.

 

GLEAN 21/1/2021

Looks like potatoes and possibly some Kale – If you can make Thursday and have a current Test please let me know

Organisational Changes

As well as being part of the national gleaning network, We work closely with our friends in Hythe (Hythe Environmental Community Group).

Our shared vision is to have independent hubs around Kent who will supply their local organisations as well as combining for larger Gleans when the opportunities arise.

As we grow and co-ordinate with other gleaning hubs, we are setting up an "East Kent Gleaning Group" with its own co-ordinator Charmaine Jacobs who will also be starting up a Folkestone Hub.

The idea of the EKGG is do more gleans on the especially on weekends and try to involve a wider range of farms in Kent

Deal With It and Hythe groups will continue to organise and coordinate weekday gleans. Both groups will maintain independent email lists but will publicise and support EKG gleans

Hopefully all of this will mean more gleans, more produce for local and regional food charities and less food waste.

We are asking all volunteers to register at East Kent Gleaning as well as ourselves- please could you go to JOIN US IN THE FIELDS

If you want to join us or are a local organisation that could do with some of our gleaned produce or a farmer who would host us please email Gleaning@DealWithIt.org.uk

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