Organized Neighborhood Gleaning: A Hunger Relief Plan, Free for the Picking

The intent of this research project is to better address local hunger through utilizing existing local resources. This project focuses on connecting fresh urban surplus, abundant in vegetable gardens and backyard fruit trees, to Salt Lake Valley's food-insecure populations. Two focus groups comprising five gardeners each were asked what motivates them to share their harvest surplus. An anonymous questionnaire collected additional motivational data. One group of gardeners participates in a food rescue and distribution program created by the researcher. The second group has annual surplus but no organized system for distributing it. The findings of the project reveal gardeners are most motivated to share their surplus by a desire to alleviate hunger. A secondary motive is the desire to reduce waste and care for the environment. Participants also noted emotional, social and physical benefits as byproducts of sharing. An unanticipated finding is that the process of organizing around neighborhood food resources builds strong community connections. Gardeners also stated the desire to address their immediate neighborhood's hunger needs before sharing elsewhere in the valley. The resultant data is being incorporated into the researcher's local neighborhood collection and distribution program, designed to provide more hungry families with nutritious food options.