In this role, Jacob will connect with farmers and food producers across the county and pick up or harvest any good quality items that would not otherwise make it to market. Most gleaned produce will continue to be stored and distributed through The Community Kitchen’s pantry and hot meals programs, but he will also build relationships with more organizations in the region that provide food security services to ensure that gleaned produce reaches everyone who needs it. Jacob will recruit and strengthen the volunteer network that makes it possible to recover the greatest amount of produce in a timely manner and deliver it to outlets where it can be used.

Prior to settling in Cheshire County, Jacob Sherwood honed his farming and food system expertise through a number of community farm roles in New Hampshire and beyond. Most recently, he helped manage and grow vegetables for the Temple Wilton Community Farm in Wilton NH. The birth of his daughter and Covid 19 brought his family to Marlow with the hope of starting a new community-based venture and homestead. He is deeply passionate about working towards a sustainable food system in Cheshire County in service of those that are food insecure.

Food producers, volunteers, and community members interested in supporting our local food security through gleaning can reach Jacob at cheshiregleans@gmail.com.

“They get to spend time outside, doing work that helps save good food from going to waste and provides the highest quality food for people experiencing food insecurity,” said Sarah Harpster, coordinator of TCK’s gleaning program. “It feels good!”

Gleaning, the act of gathering leftover grain and produce from a farm after a harvest, has established a real niche in the Monadnock Region. The TCK program, in particular, gleans from about a dozen farms throughout Cheshire County each year.

.

Volunteers visit some of the different farms on specific days – on Wednesdays, they go to New Dawn Farm in Westmoreland and Pete’s Stand Farm in Walpole; Tracie’s Community Farm in Fitzwilliam and Mini Hill Farm on Thursdays, and on Fridays, they swing over to Picadilly Farm in Winchester and Wingate Farm in Hinsdale. They also do a pick-up at the end of the day at the Keene Farmer’s Market, and during the summer months, they pick up at Green Wagon Farm several times throughout the week.

• Fertile Fields Farm in Westmoreland
• Lucky 13 Farm inWinchester
• Maple Lane Farm in Lyndeborough, from which TCK got 8,500 pounds of apples
• Mayfair Farm in Harrisville
• Mirasol Farm in Langdon
• the Gilsum-based Sustainability Project.

According to Harpster, volunteering for the TCK gleaning program is as easy as signing up online. At nhglean.org (New Hampshire Gleans), they need only indicate their region and availability. Harpster contacts those volunteers when gleaning opportunities become available.

“I usually invite volunteers to help me with field gleans,” she said. “These will be trips to local farms and orchards in Cheshire County. I usually schedule gleans to take place for a two-hour time period. Sometimes I invite volunteers to help with a ‘post-harvest pick-up,’ which means that the farm is donating food that they have harvested, and we simply need to pack up the produce. Some farms donate so much produce that this can also be a two-hour-plus project.”