The Gleaning Network is a network of volunteers willing and able to glean the fields and orchards after the harvest. SoSA West works with farmers and growers who agree to turn over their fields after they have harvested their crops. We work with church and civic groups to organize volunteers and teach them how to glean. When the fields and orchards are ready to glean, we schedule gleaning events and bring in volunteers for an afternoon of fun and work. They gather and package the fresh produce collected and take it to area food banks, pantries and critical feeding agencies to be distributed to those in need. The volunteers donate an afternoon of their time for the satisfaction of knowing that their efforts provide fresh produce to people without the means to provide it for themselves.

Since the Gleaning Network began in 1988, over 393,000 volunteers have gleaned over 163 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables by hand, one piece at a time. In 2008, over 30,000 volunteers gleaned more than 11 million pounds of produce that would otherwise have been left to rot in the fields and orchards. This fresh food provided over 33 million servings of nourishing food to those in need.