Adam McFee Reflects on Time at Table to Table as Gleaning Coordinator

Adam McFee joined our ranks in January of 2024 as a weekly route volunteer before becoming a Summer term Green Iowa AmeriCorps member in June to serve as our Gleaning Coordinator. What excited him the most about this change was his personal interest in food rescue and sustainable practices, and the chance to have such a direct positive impact on his community. Building off the foundational work for our gleaning network set in place by a previous AmeriCorps member, Marquis Heard, Adam was able to increase the amount of food rescued through gleans by 106% compared to 2023, for a total of 2,046 lbs. of produce. He worked with five new growers in addition to existing partners and completed 27 gleans during the course of his term. 

Adam has plans to graduate from the University of Iowa in the Spring of 2025 with a degree in Environmental Policy and Planning. He came to us with previous experience working with Iowa produce farms and volunteering at the University of Iowa Food Pantry, as well as an existing interest in food systems and security. This made him an enthusiastic, motivated, and insightful addition to our team. 

Upon completing his service term in August, Adam took the time to reflect on his experience and impact at Table to Table. 

From the start of the summer, the training process felt very deliberate. I found that beginning training with the big-picture presentation on the Table to Table mission really got me motivated and I began to understand what my role would be on a day-to-day basis. Marquis was super important at first for getting started and offered lots of insight on glean-specific information. Most of the growers I gleaned with this summer had been found and contacted before I started, which I owe to Marquis, he really had the program on its legs before I started. 

This was my first job where I felt I had real agency over my time and how I would do the job. I was able to really build up the program in the way I felt was most effective and have a real hands-on role in its development. Fitting around program coverage, I thought of Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesday mornings as my slots for gleans, and aimed for two or three gleans a week. I created a thoughtful and deliberate process through which I approached my daily responsibilities for setting up and executing gleans, in addition to serving as a core support team member for regular operations as well. The dynamic nature of my role and the independence it allowed me really helped me grow professionally and personally in ways I will carry with me throughout all my future endeavors. 

Adam took the liberty of compiling and analyzing all the data he collected from his time as Gleaning Coordinator, offering valuable insight and suggestions for the ongoing development of our gleaning program. His dedication and thoughtful, deliberate approach to his work made a huge impact on Table to Table and the growth of our gleaning program. Thank you, Adam!