What is Gleaning?
Gleaning is the act of gathering leftover food and produce from local farms and gardens after a harvest. The TCK program gleans from a dozen farms throughout Cheshire County each year.
The Community Kitchen has successfully maintained our gleaning program for 10 years.
The Community Kitchen, Cheshire County’s largest food pantry, is working
hard to meet the rising needs for access to fresh foods in our region.
The Community Kitchen Gleaning Program is a vital part of our mission to foster local, sustainable, and equitable food systems. We collaborate with local gardens, markets, and farms to collect surplus food that might otherwise go to waste. This surplus is then distributed to our guests through our Pantry and Hot Meals Programs.
Our goal is to increase the availability of healthy, locally-sourced fresh produce within our community. By doing so, we not only reduce food waste but also ensure that nutritious food reaches those who need it most.
The Community kitchen proudly participates in NH Gleans, a statewide network dedicated to gleaning efforts across New Hampshire. Through this partnership, we are able to amplify our impact and support our community more effectively.
The Power of Community
The Community Kitchen’s program has partnerships with around a dozen farms and community gardens throughout Cheshire County. The food collected through field gleans goes directly to community members who need it most through The Community Kitchen’s Pantry and Hot Meals programs.
Additionally, as part of New Hampshire Gleans, The Community Kitchen works alongside organizations across the state to broaden the awareness and impact of gleaning on addressing food insecurity in our region.
Our Gleaning Coordinator, Alicia Clinton
Alicia Clinton, TCK’s Gleaning Coordinator for the 2024 season, graciously joined the team after volunteering in our Thursday Pantry Distribution. When we asked her what section of the distribution line she wanted to work, she said, “the produce section, of course!”
Originally from California, Alicia is grateful for the freshly picked fruits and vegetables she has always had access to. When she was raising her own family, she witnessed the amount of food that went to waste just by walking through her neighborhood. People were too busy to harvest the food in their own orchards and gardens. She soon discovered a local gleaning organization called Village Harvest and began volunteering at local gleaning events. She was astounded at the amount of food that was rescued and redistributed to local pantries and shelters in the region. All this food would have gone to waste if not for the gleaners. She is happy to have found her niche here at The Community Kitchen, seeking out nutritious food to rescue and feed those in need. Nothing gives her greater satisfaction.
As Gleaning Coordinator for The Community Kitchen, Alicia will continue to connect and collaborate with local farmers and community garden organizers. In addition to leading gleaning events, Alicia will work to expand and connect with The Community Kitchen’s incredible volunteer network.
Alicia is enthusiastic about engaging with people to bring greater awareness of food insecurity in Cheshire County and the wider Monadnock Region and to highlight the vital role gleaning plays in meeting the fresh produce needs of our community.
For more information about our gleaning program, or to sign up for a Gleaning event, please mail gleaner@thecommunitykitchen.org or contact TCK (603) 352-3200.
We 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.
Volunteers Make Gleaning A Huge Success
Where Does It All Come From? How Can I Make Sure My Neighbors And Community Have Food? Wondering How To Get Involved In The Community Kitchen’s Gleaning Program?
Volunteering for the TCK gleaning program is as easy as signing up online. At New Hampshire Gleans, you need only indicate your region and availability. The Gleaning coordinator will contact the volunteers when gleaning opportunities become available.
We invite volunteers to help with field gleans. These will be trips to local farms and orchards in Cheshire County. Usually the scheduled gleans take place for a 2-hour time period.
Sometimes we 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 2-hour-plus project.
Won’t you join us? https://nhgleans.org
The Community Kitchen’s Gleaning Sources
Charitable Gardens – Community Gardens – Commercial Growers
ANTIOCH CAMPUS GARDEN
ANGEL WING FARM
C&S GARDENS AT OPTICAL AVE. & SUMMIT RD.
CHESHIRE GARDEN
FERTILE FIELDS FARM
COMMUNITY GARDEN CONNECTIONS WESTMORELAND GARDEN PROJECT
GILSUM-BASED SUSTAINABILITY PROJECT
GREEN WAGON FARM
KEENE FARMER’S MARKET
KEENE HOUSING AUTHORITY
LITTLE GREENS (MICROGREENS)
LUCKY 13 FARM
MAPLE LANE FARM- LYNDEBOROUGH
MAYFAIR FARM
MINI HILL FARM
MIRASOL FARM
NEW DAWN FARM
NYE HILL FARM
PETE’S STAND
PICADILLY FARM
PISGAH FARM
RICK’S VEGETABLE STAND
TRACIE’S COMMUNITY FARM
UPS GARDEN
THE WHEELOCK SCHOOL GARDEN
WINGATE FARM
WALPOLE VALLEY FARM