— from Pegi Groundwater —
Summer has arrived and gardens are brimming with fresh produce. Have you reached your limit on canning, freezing and preserving the fruits of your labor? Then it is time to consider Plan B for dealing with the surplus: donating the rest to the Food Bank or calling the Orcas Gleaners to help you harvest and donate.
Donations to the Food Bank should be made on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Please rinse the dirt off of all produce before dropping it off in the bin provided in front of the Food Bank’s door. The Food Bank is located at 176 Madrona St. next to the Community Church in Eastsound, behind Island Market.
If you need help harvesting your garden or orchard, the Orcas Island Gleaners can help you out. We are a group of volunteers who supply our own equipment to carefully harvest fruit or vegetables on your property.
The food we harvest is donated to local groups such as the Food Bank, Senior Center, Kaleidoscope, and the Farm to Cafeteria Program.
You can contact us by calling Pegi Groundwater at 376-3957. Please call us a week or more before soft fruits ripen to schedule a picking. That way, they will not spoil before we can deliver them to their intended beneficiary.
We are always looking for additional people to help us glean. If you are interested, please call Pegi at 376-3957.
I can’t thank these wonderful people enough for taking on the job of gleaning amazing Orcas Island bounty for the benefit of others. On behalf of the Farm to Cafeteria program, the Food Bank, and all the others who will be sharing the “fruits of your labor,” a big whoop and way to go!!