1/27

Iowa Gleaning Network

Lessons learned in growing a gleaning network from the ground up.

2/27

Presented By Network Member:

Nicki Ross, Executive Director of Table to Table

3/27

WAIT, WHERE’S IOWA AGAIN..?

(Hint: We’re the one with hogs, soy and corn, not potatoes or buckeyes!)

4/27

State of Food Insecurity in Iowa

Iowa has a food insecurity rate of 12.8%, or 404,000 Iowans
In an agricultural state that imports up to 90% of its food, scaling up local foods access and procurement is a promising solution.

5/27

The Origins of Iowa Gleaning Network, 2020

April

Feeding Iowans Task Force Established

June

Coordinator Recruitment & Structure Set Up

May

Iowa Gleaning Network Launch

July

Gleaning Operations Launched

6/27

Start Up Stakeholders

Iowa Department of Agriculture

Lt. Governor's Office

Volunteer Iowa

ISU Extension

Connection to Farmers & Legitimacy of this new initiative

Led the Feeding Iowans Task Force & had access to discretionary funds for project start up

AmeriCorps program provided our VISTA network Coordinator, also connected statewide

Well connected in Ag education, community involvement in healthy state initiatives

7/27

Ongoing Program Stakeholders

Practical Farmers of Iowa

Food Hubs

Iowa Organics Conference

ISU Extension/4H

Connection to Farmers & Legitimacy of this new initiative

Connection to farmers & partnerships for purchasing

Annual connection to farmers & idea generation

Continued connection to volunteers & utilized 4H AmeriCorps program for on site coordinators

8/27

Network Members - Orgs of All Types

ISU Extension Offices

Food Rescues

Food Banks/Pantries

Non-profit Farms

Added gleaning to existing access & education programs - especially in rural areas

Expanded gleaning programs with additional resources

Added gleaning to existing programs

Added gleaning to existing access programs

9/27

Program Leadership

Minimal materials and gleaning planning resources

Competition vs. Coordination

Shared Challenges looking for Network Solutions

Seasonal Volunteer Recruitment & Attrition

Hesitant Farmer Buy-in

With this in mind, the group identified the following resource needs for successful gleaning operations:

Organization to Lead - communities need an organization already in the hunger relief space to lead local gleaning initiatives across the state
Gleaning Coordinators - one of the biggest needs is a staff resource that can facilitate volunteer engagement and oversee the implementation of a formal gleaning operation.
Program Development & Materials - Collated access to gleaning program resources are available but need to be collated. Iowa State University and Northeast Iowa Food Bank could contribute to this repository.
Volunteer Resources - to make gleaning viable from a labor perspective, we need to utilize volunteers for food collection. Volunteer Iowa would have input on how to accomplish this including utilizing FFA programs across the state as skilled volunteers
Farm buy in and tax credit - Making food donation appealing and beneficial to farmers is a linchpin of success. Without their buy-in, there is no food. How can we help farmers benefit from these donations by making incentives easier to access? Practical Farmers of Iowa & Iowa Organics Conference

10/27

Iowa Gleaning Network Cooperative Structure

11/27

Coalition Challenges

Org Member Challenges

CHALLENGES DURING FIRST YEAR

Commitment to Gleaning

Use of AmeriCorps Resources

Farmer Buy-In

Measuring Success

Partner Reporting

Covid-19 Pandemic

Derecho Storm

Limited Supplies and Funding

Coordinator Difficulties

COALITION CHALLENGES

When you have a coalition of so many different players whose priorities differ, it makes it hard to be on the same page.

Commitment to gleaning and how we use of AmeriCorps resources

Cash match and how that impacts commitment and “reading fine print”
Example of these challenges

Farmer buy in (this may have come up as a common issue before the network but most organizations didn’t have enough resources to expand their farm partnerships

Figuring out how to measure success

Partner reporting - the information that people wanted was not the same across the board and hard to manage, starting mid season and having partners join at different times made it harder to have a common understanding of what was expected.

ON SITE CHALLENGES

Covid 19

Derecho

Limited supplies and funding

Other emergency priorities

Orgs feedback about what didn’t go well in the first year or was more challenging

12/27

Did you all face some of the same challenges in your operation? Any others to add to the list?

13/27

How Network Efforts

Addressed Shared Challenges

14/27

Competition vs. Collaboration

Good relationships foster cooperation
The myth of resource scarcity
Coordination AND collaboration
The map & coordinated entry

15/27

MAP OF 2020 IGN SERVICE RANGE

16/27

MAP OF 2022 IGN SERVICE RANGE

17/27

Legitimacy & Professional Development

Letters of support
One point of contact for new connections
Surveys of member network
Training series
Site visits

18/27

Program Leadership & Staffing

Job descriptions & staffing plans
AmeriCorps resources & applicant referrals
Peer support network

Bi-weekly meetings, shifted as the need changed
Collective solutioning
Reduced isolation & new staff training strain

19/27

Shared Materials

Gleaning manual (Sarah has a link)

Program setup & harvest timeline
How to get started for newbies
Farm connection directory
Supporting legislation & tax materials
Sample communications & marketing templates
Food safety tips & guides

Data templates

20/27

Network Equipment Purchase

Established a fiduciary sponsor for grant
Gleaning supply basics - customized to the needs of each site
Collective ordering saved money

* supply kit itemized list with links & prices

21/27

Volunteer Support

Shared recruitment resources
Volunteer referrals between orgs and by IGN
4H, Future Farmers of America, Master Gardeners
Volunteer training materials & waivers (see gleaning manual)
Corporate group volunteering

22/27

Farmer Engagement

External stakeholders are key
Tax incentive
Standardized training & materials
Paid & unpaid opportunities
Farmer testimonials
Network awareness raising activities

23/27

176

1000+

84

Then & Now

67

24,577 lbs

5 SITES

24,57 lbs

100,316 lbs

80+

7 SITES

558

271

2020

Volunteer hours dedicated to gleaning

Families received fresh produce from IGN gleaning events

New volunteers were engaged

Partners and hunger relief sites across Iowa were delivered fresh produce

Fresh produce delivered to Iowans

Established or expanded gleaning programs

2022

24/27

Unexpected Opportunities

Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program

Growth of farm-donated produce

National USDA program to build capacity of underrepresented or marginalized farmers

We receive more produce that’s already harvested direct from farmers than we glean

25/27

Continued Challenges &

Future of The Network

Network leadership
Maintaining connections - seasonality & staff turn over
AmeriCorps support
Top-down state policy to incentivize farmers
Ground-up grassroots awareness of food-insecurity, and gleaning’s role to help alleviate it statewide

26/27

People Power!

Our network is built on the power of people and we all have our different roles that have made it a success.

27/27

THANKS!

Nicki Ross

nicki@table2table.org

WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE?

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