Anne Langebartels

What exactly does gleaning mean – no not cleaning…gleaning! If you’re unfamiliar with this weird word, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Gleaning is an age-old practice that helps provide fresh local foods to the community, so let’s dive in!

“The term gleaning is used in the agriculture industry to describe the collection of crops left in the field after all other available food has been harvested” (PostHarvest). The practice dates back centuries but is still largely relevant in modern day farming. At Table to Table, we implement gleaning into our food rescue system to provide fresh local foods for Johnson County’s food access network. Local farmers and individuals with large personal gardens reach out to us when they’ve reached their capacity for harvesting and still have good crops left in the fields. This can happen for many reasons – sometimes there is not enough people-power to harvest everything, farmers may have over-planted in case of blight, drought, or pest problems, or they may have planted cover crops to protect against erosion with no intention of harvesting them in the first place! Whatever the reason may be for excess crop, gleaning is a great way to ensure the resources used in producing the food are not wasted while getting fresh food on local tables at the same time (PostHarvest). 

Want to get involved? 

• Volunteer with Table to Table (T2T)! 
  • We’re gearing up for prime gleaning season and could use all the help we can get! Contact volunteer@table2table.org for more information on becoming a gleaning volunteer. Gleans usually take place in the morning and last around two hours. It’s a great way to get outdoors, learn more about local foods, and get your hands dirty!

• Grow a row!
  • Are you an avid gardener? Got a green thumb? Just like to plant things? Plant an extra row of produce of your choosing in your personal garden or community plot to donate, and when it’s ready for harvest, bring your produce to T2T or other food access organizations in the community! For more information on this, contact gleaning@table2table.org. 

• Donate produce to Table to Table!
  • Are you a local grower with extra produce in your fields or garden? Connect with T2T to discuss potential gleaning opportunities! We’ll send a crew of volunteers to harvest your extra produce and deliver to food insecure neighbors. Contact gleaning@table2table.org for more information.

Did that apple you’re eating come from five miles down the road, or is it more well-traveled than you are? Reduce your carbon footprint and benefit your health by choosing local food.

Monthly Topic Overview

Why does choosing local food matter?

“Choosing local food whenever in season and when possible, as often as possible, strengthens a community-based food system,” says Michelle Kenyon, director of Field to Family, an Iowa City-based nonprofit that works to create a healthy and sustainable local food system. “Community food systems enhance the health of our economy, environment, and our population.”

Let’s go in-depth with benefits: 

• Choosing local food reduces transportation-associated greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Significant greenhouse gas emissions are associated with food logistics. Most conventional food travels over 1,000 miles to get to us, the consumers. (To put that into perspective, that’s like driving to Boston from Iowa City.) Almost one-fifth of carbon emissions in the food system are from burning fossil fuels to transport (and refrigerate) food via trucks, trains, boats, planes, etc. With a greater distance to travel, there’s also a higher chance of food spoiling or being damaged on its journey, leading to more food waste.
• Choosing local food offers fresher, more nutritious options that benefit your health.
  • Food sourced locally spends much less time in transit from the farm to your plate, which means it loses fewer nutrients before you eat it. Plus, it’s fresher and tastes better. Eating local encourages you to eat with the seasons, learning when certain types of produce are at their peak for quality and taste.
  • Plus, many local farmers take environmental health into consideration when growing food, using sustainable practices to increase biodiversity and protect pollinators.
  • “‘Know your farmer, know your food’ is absolutely true, as local farmers are transparent when it comes to their growing philosophies,” Kenyon says. “Those who implement growing practices that are committed to improving soil, water, and air health are upfront about it.”
• Choosing local food strengthens our food system.
  • When you purchase local food, you’re supporting local farming, processing, and distribution jobs, keeping your dollars in our local economy. The more of our local dollars that go into local food, the more local food is grown in our region. Those dollars invest in the future of our food supply.
  • In addition to food, agritourism supports our community’s economy. Participating in local activities like farm to table dinners, goat yoga, and apple picking ultimately support folks living and working in our communities.

How can I access local food in Johnson County?

Now that you understand the difference that eating local can make, let’s delve into how you can access local foods in Johnson County. Our community is host to a lot of quality local food options, including these listed:

• Farmers Markets offer seasonal local foods and goods sold by our neighbors. Markets typically run May-October. Check out this list of Johnson County Farmers Markets. 
• If you’re looking to order local foods online, Field to Family offers an Online Market from April thru December. 
• Many local farms offer community-supported agriculture (CSA) shares for purchase. Vegetable shares are seasonal and subscription-based. Find a local CSA with this guide to Iowa CSA farms.
• Want to grow your own produce? You can’t get more local than that!
  • Try your hand at gardening in your backyard; or, if your space is limited, container gardens kept on patios, steps, or in windows are excellent for growing your own tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, lettuces, strawberries, and herbs.
  • Iowa City community garden plots are another great option for planting your own garden or gardening with friends.
  • Plus: share your bounty and grow an extra row to donate to Table to Table! Drop your donations off at the Table to Table office in Pepperwood Plaza, 1049 US-6 E, Iowa City on weekdays or Saturday mornings.
• Shop local at the grocery store. Wherever you shop, check labels when you’re shopping to see where the food you’re planning to purchase came from.

Activity

• Learn about how you can access local food in our area with Field to Family’s resources.
• Next time you go to the grocery store, pick out three produce items and check the labels. Where are the items from? Are they local or from a faraway place?

Resources

• Field to Family resources: 
  • Online Market 
  •  Local Food Explorer
  • “Where does your food come from?” article
• List of Johnson County Farmers Markets
• Guide to Iowa CSA Farms
• Container Gardening Tips
• Iowa City Community Garden Plots
• Iowa State University’s Vegetable Planting and Harvesting Times

More on local food benefits from Iowa State University

This month, we are partnering with Food Waste Prevention Week, happening April 7-13, 2025, to shine light on the importance of food waste reduction and to share some easy tips on how you can reduce food waste. 

The party continues through all of April as we celebrate our Love Food, Fight Waste program’s three year anniversary this month! Celebrate with us by taking action to reduce food waste.

Here are some ways to make a difference: 

• • Take our 10 Actions Challenge which offers a range of activities to participate in. Compete with your friend, family member, or neighbor this month and see who can score the most points. Click here for a link to the scorecard.

• Get prepared for this year’s local produce season: 

• • Farmers markets offer seasonal local foods and goods sold by our neighbors. Markets typically run May-October. Check out this list of Johnson County Farmers Markets. 
  • If you’re looking to order local foods online, Field to Family offers an online farmers market.
  • Many local farms offer community-supported agriculture (CSA) shares for purchase. Vegetable shares are seasonal and subscription-based. Find a local CSA with this guide to Iowa CSA farms.
  • Want to grow your own produce? You can’t get more local than that!
    • Try your hand at gardening in your backyard; or, if your space is limited, container gardens kept on patios, steps, or in windows are excellent for growing your own tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, lettuces, strawberries, and herbs.
    • Share your bounty and grow an extra row to donate to Table to Table! Drop your donations off at the Table to Table office in Pepperwood Plaza, 1049 US-6 E, Iowa City on weekdays or Saturday mornings.
• Get involved with your community! Volunteer or donate to the organizations who are reducing hunger through food rescue. 
  • Educate yourself on local volunteer opportunities or consider donating food and personal care items. Here are just a few wish lists from some of our partner organizations:
    • CommUnity
    • Coralville Community Food Pantry 
    • North Liberty Community Pantry
    • Food Pantry at Iowa
    • Iowa City Free Lunch
    • Shelter House Iowa City 

You may also bring items to Table to Table to be delivered throughout the local hunger relief network!

According to the 2022 Iowa Statewide Material Characterization Study conducted by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, approximately 20.4% of what ends up in the Iowa City Landfill is food waste. In 2022, the Iowa City Landfill properly landfilled 130,109.46 tons of garbage from our service area – Johnson County, Kalona, and Riverside. Of that, about 26,542 tons was food waste. 

Why do we want to reduce food waste and keep food out of the landfill?

When food is wasted, it wastes all the resources that went into growing, manufacturing, distributing, and transporting that food. At the landfill, once garbage is compacted into place by trained Landfill Operators, there is no air (oxygen) or light in a landfill hole. This is the perfect environment for methane, a very potent greenhouse gas, to be produced in the absence of oxygen and in the presence of so many organic materials (food waste). One of the best things each of us can do to take climate action is to reduce food waste.

A great alternative for food waste disposal is composting. While we encourage good, edible food to be eaten as the first priority, we will always have the inevitable banana peels, eggshells, and coffee grounds that we want to responsibly dispose of. Composting is a great option for those items! For a deep dive into composting, check out this deep dive into composting. 

Who is recovering food in Johnson County?

T2T saw up to a 60% increase in the amount of food rescued annually between 2017 and 2022. And that growth has continued! Since 2022, Table to Table has continued to increase the amount of food rescued throughout Johnson County.

Table to Table manages a complex food rescue network throughout Johnson County involving more than 100 food donors and nearly 50 recipient organizations. Food donors include area stores, warehouses, processors, restaurants, farms, markets, and gardeners that donate their unsold or excess food to Table to Table. T2T volunteers deliver this food directly to organizations that are serving our neighbors in need so this food reaches people as quickly as possible.  Our partners report that most T2T food makes it to our neighbors’ homes within 6 hours of our daily deliveries. These organizations include food pantries, shelters, hot meal sites, and youth programs that connect rescued food to our neighbors. Ultimately, people rescue food by eating it: using it for its intended purpose!

In 2024, T2T recovered 2.7 million pounds of food, redirecting it throughout our community where it was needed and feeding more than 22,000 people. More than half of this food is produce, protein, and dairy. Recall that some of the most commonly wasted foods are produce, dairy, and bread. T2T is making a huge local impact in these most-wasted categories!

T2T rescued food provides about half the total food that the three largest local pantries distribute. Plus, recovered food helps provide more options, including vegan and gluten free foods and a variety of produce grown locally.

Activities

1. Help us rescue food in our community! Table to Table is currently in need of fleet and facilities volunteers to help prep vans for food rescue routes, route substitutes for Saturday mornings, and we have a few weekly route positions available if you are looking for a routine volunteering gig. We will also be looking for volunteers to help harvest veggies in farm fields this summer! We have an amazing volunteer network, and we would love for you to join us! Visit table2table.org/volunteers, email volunteer@table2table.org, or call 319-337-3400 for more information
2. Educate yourself on local options to donate extra food and personal care items. Here are just a few wish lists from organizations serving our neighbors:

• CommUnity 
• Coralville Community Food Pantry 
• North Liberty Community Pantry
• Food Pantry at Iowa
• Iowa City Free Lunch
• Shelter House Iowa City 
• You may also bring items (dry goods, garden produce, pet food, and hygiene products) to Table to Table to deliver throughout the local hunger relief network.

Resources

• 2022 Iowa Statewide Material Characterization Study
• EPA’s Food: Material-Specific Data: https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/food-material-specific-data 
• Iowa Department of Natural Resources article: “A Land of Plenty Wasted – Food Waste in Iowa”