The Society of Saint Andrew organized a gleaning at Long and Scott Farms North of Lake Apopka, Florida. I had actually driven past the farm multiple times this past month. Mark DeMaio let me know about the event.
Gleaning is the act of collecting leftover crops in the field after harvest. During harvest, there is food that is left or missed because it does not meet store standards for uniformity. The gleaned fruit is shared with nearby families who might otherwise go without fresh food.
Rebecca Brockman coordinated the event. This seemed like a home school field trip allowing the kids to pick unharvested cucumbers. Rebecca pointed out that all over the state of Florida, over 8.7 million pounds of food was collected for the hungry. The organization has served over 5 million fresh food meals and they have been gleaning in Florida since 1995. We all had to wash our hands with germicidal soup to be sure we didn’t bring pathogens out into the fields. After Barbara’s introduction we headed out to the field. Barbara drove most of the kids in the pick up and I walked over with several others.
Everyone was given large yellow IKEA bags and then the harvesting began. I stated sketching immediately as they leaned over to pick cucumbers and slowly walked down the field away from me. Once the sketch was done, I walked to the truck and picked up an IKEA bag for myself. A mom and daughter were having plenty of luck finding cucumbers in the last two trenches in the filed. Since they were now harvesting experts I took their advice and stayed at the edge of the field.
Cucumbers are hard to see. There is a thick mat of foliage from the vines which is hard to see through. I started harvesting like a blind man feeling around for anything solid. I found a few hand grenade sized cucumbers and then I finally found a full sized foot long. I held it over my head and shouted in delight. I don’t think anyone noticed. It was a personal victory.
The mom had the idea that there might be plenty of unharvested cucumbers back where everyone began. I though that was a great idea so I back tracked to where I had been seated to sketch, and dedicated myself to harvesting down one or two rows. I found plenty of small cucumbers and the occasional thick and long prize. Part of me felt like I wasn’t harvesting like a pro. My IKEA bag was filling up with small fruit.
Regardless I turned in my IKEA bag. And everyone was thankful. In the pick up truck people were packaging the cucumbers in red mesh bags for distribution. I was told I could bring a bag home, but I felt I had only harvested enough to warrant taking one cucumber home. Back at the studio, I cut it up and put it in a salad. It was absolutely delicious. Whenever I am settled enough to start a garden, I plan to grow cucumbers.
