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2024 AGO International Gleaning Symposium�

Gleaning In Washington – An Overview

David Bobanick

Washington State Gleaning Network

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Gleaning in Washington

An Overview

Hi everybody! Some of you might know me already but, my name is Sarah. I am an Ameircorps VISTA member serving alongside Harvest Against Hunger and AGO to assist in the development of a network that supports gleaners in Washington state. My job is to do the on-the-ground work like the research, planning and organizing process. Thats anything from conducting 1 on 1 interviews to hosting brainstorming groups to strategizing timelines for putting our ideas into action.
A little background on me - I love food! I have a pretty strong culinary past (working in a lot of professional kitchens - doing a lot of cooking!), but have just recently delved into food systems. I got my degree in Food Systems from University of Washington's School of Public Health just last year. My vision for my life's work is to help to establish local food systems that foster sustainability, accessibility, equality and health. So I feel really lucky to have landed this project right out of school. From the very beginning, this has been such a cool and creative project, where my inner food nerd can really shine.

WA Gleaners!

But enough about me, the purpose of this network is to support gleaners in WA state. I’ll break down some of the things that make this state unique and interesting for gleaners in a minute … but first Y'all from the Washington Gleaning Network.. Go ahead and Stand up. If I’m correct, there are about X organizations here today, from X all the way to to X throughout the state. (applause) Allright yall can sit back down.. Thank you.

Gleaning in Wa state

I’ll talk a bit more about our network creation process in Track 1, but for the next 10-15 minutes, I want to tell you a little bit about gleaning in Washington state.
First, WA state is a little unique in that we have a lot of gleaning infrastructure - a massive amount compared to other states. To illustrate that scale, (SLIDE)

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And look at us all!

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Agricultural Powerhouse

#1 producer of

Apples
Blueberries
Hops
Pears
Spearmint oil
Sweet cherries

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East-West Divide

WA is a good sized state, at the top corner of the US, bordering canada. Its fairly rectangular, a little squiggly on the west end.. It's about 450 miles wide, and about 270 from top to bottom, according to Google Maps, if you’re following major highways.
The Cascades mountain range cuts vertically, north to south through the state. It can be difficult or impossible to pass in winter. This mountain range kind of creates an East and West divide, geographically, and can even result in different weather systems (and thus, growing seasons).
You could be very general and say the West side is urban and wet and the East side is rural and dry, though there's obviously some nuance there.
The West side tends to be the most urban when it comes to the Seattle area, but does include some pretty rural areas + islands and the Olympic peninsula ..

I dont understand the whole science of it something to do with the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other creates a really interesting weather zone where, despite being so far north, seasons are fairly mild (it doesnt really get too hot or too cold) but it tends to be rather gray and rainy for 9 months of the year. This area of the state is a legit rainforest. The growing seasons are pretty short, usually from May - September before it gets too chilly for food to grow (except for brassicas like kale and cabbages).

And the East side of the state tends to be fairly rural with several hours drive between larger cities.

The East side of the state is, conversely, much drier. Its warmer in summer and colder in winter. It’s considered “high desert”. In fact, theres a place right here (MAP) called Cashmere, named after Cashmere in India, because its similar to that area (fun fact). The growing seasons are a bit longer and sunnier, which lends itself to more variety of produce (like tomatoes and peppers). This is where many of the largest commercial farms are located **FACT CHECK.

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Resource Divide

Population density

Household Income

But what's important to understand about that geography, is there is a massive resource divide between the very urban areas and the rest of the state. Here’s a population density map of WA state, the red indicates a higher population and the green is the lowest. There are 8 million people in WA but the resources are concentrated in the densely populated areas in red. The second map here is a household income map of WA state, and even though the colors are a bit different, the concentrations are very similar - the most populated areas have the most resources.

What that means for us as gleaners is that there isn’t a very equal spread of resources, especially once you get outside the concentrated areas. And its hard, physically, to get things from one end to the other. An example.. Folks in Bellingham have told us they often have more blueberries than they could ever harvest, and folks out in Spokane have said they have more apples than people are willing to take. But these areas are so physically distant, crossing the cascades and driving for six or eight hours, that its nearly impossible for them to share with each other.
That kind of disconnect makes it difficult to spread out the bounty that exists in this state, leading to both geographic and resource inequalities.

So that food never gets to the hands of those who need it, it may end up in compost or as food for pigs or even in the landfill, when it should be going to feed people.

And theres another form of disconnect, beyond geography and resources - A knowledge disconnect..
I know I’m preaching to the choir here but gleaners have got to be one of the most boot strapping players in the food system. We are often low on resources, we cobble together any way we can. We are constantly innovating and thinking outside the box….. but sometimes we are also reinventing the wheel, so to speak.
There are so many gleaners in the state but until recently, most of us didnt even know about each other. And that’s a hard place to be because its so much harder to fulfill big picture needs and fully realize our impact, to answer vital questions like.. Is what we’re doing working? Is it solving the kinds of problems inherent in our communities that we set out to solve? Without answers to these questions, we may lack the ability to make truly equitable decisions, or we may implement solutions that don’t really serve our communities.

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That’s where the Washington Gleaning Network Comes in. We believe that together, we can create a structure that supports this sharing, regardless of where we are. And not just when it comes to geography, but also when it comes to more equal access to funders, supplies, volunteers, and even being able to extend food availability due to the growing season differences throughout the state.

And, maybe most importantly, sharing knowledge with each other.

Together our communities can thrive, as we build a broader reach of relationships and an inclusive space for creative solutions.

We come together and we work. We come together and we share our food, our stories. Together we are stronger. Together, we can create a deeper system of support that sustains us all and allows us to grow together, ultimately putting more fresh, local food into the hands of those who need it most. That's our vision for this network.

Here is the Vision statement we created for the network and I’m really loving this. It points to our highest values - equitable, sustainable and interconnected. It illustrates a glorious picture of the future we are working so hard for - no waste and thriving communities.

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Regular Discussion, Training

& Task Groups

The Good Food Forum

Group gleans!

So what do we actually do as a network?

We connect regularly. We have monthly meetings where we bring in industry experts to ask them our questions. When we have big projects we will break up into small work groups to dig deeper into each aspect and then come together with solutions.
We glean together as much as possible - and are trying to create a tradition of big gleans at least a couple times a year (ex one in the summer, one in the fall).
We have recently partnered with the Good Food Network on a collaborative digital platform (call the Good Food Forum) that allows us to share knowledge, share food, and even schedule our group glean events.

We are at the beginning of this so we dont know what it’ll look like in 5 years or 10 years. As of now, we are just a baby network, but we have big ideas and there’s so much potential for us to grow.

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And the last thing I want to touch on..

Harvest Against Hunger in Seattle has generously agreed to host the gleaning network at it’s onset. HAH is extremely well aligned for this, as they are incredibly well connected within the hunger relief community. Its important to point out that they are a supportive structure, not a leadership position. This network has always been, from the very beginning, a democratic process. Every person in this network has a voice and we are here to support them.

And we’ve just launched an Advisory Committee to help guide the conversation and work out the details for network projects. I am continuing to act as a coordinator for this network until my Americorps service ends next February, and I’ve got a little desk at the HAH headquarters.

Next, at Track 1 Efforts to Build A Regional Gleaning Network, HAH will talk a little more about their mission and we will have a kind of Q&A discussion between some folks from the WA gleaning network to talk about their experience in the network building process. So there a little plug. Hope you can make it. �

(~last 5m) Meanwhile I’ve got a few minutes here, so I’d love to hear from you. hat you want to know more about?

Thank you all for listening to me speak.