The Society of St. Andrew: Working to End Hunger in America

When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all your undertakings.
Deuteronomy 24:19 (NRSV)

Gleaning is the traditional Biblical practice of gathering crops that would otherwise be left in the fields to rot or be plowed under after harvest: Because the food is unmarketable, some growers allow crews of gleaners to pick what is left after harvest to donate to those who are needy.

www.endhunger.org

Some of you have heard me mention the Society of St. Andrew, which was formed by my uncle, The Rev. Ken Horne, as a practical, common-sense response to the problem of hunger in the United States.

"People who live in poverty are constantly at risk of hunger. Those who live in a constant state of hunger find it difficult, if not impossible, to pull themselves out of poverty. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle. Rev. Ken Horne, Executive Director of the Society of St. Andrew, understands this debilitating dynamic. For the past quarter century he has been working to feed the hungry people of America and to help put them on an equal footing with their fellow citizens.Ken’s vision is that of a world without hunger. “Mercy and justice. Feeding the hungry and providing them a fighting chance to escape poverty. This is what Jesus calls his followers to do,” says Horne. “Things ought to be better. Over twenty-seven years ago I found myself called to help find a way to make them better.” That was the start of the Society of St. Andrew, today a national Christian, ecumenical hunger-relief ministry salvaging fresh food that will go to waste, and using it instead to feed hungry people."

The Potato Project was the Society's first project:

"Tractor-trailer loads of potatoes and other produce are often rejected by commercial markets or potato chip factories due to slight imperfections in size, shape, sugar content, or surface blemishes. Usually, these rejected loads end up at local land fills. Through the Potato Project, however, the Society of St. Andrew is able to redirect these 45,000-pound loads of fresh, nutritious produce to soup kitchens, Native American reservations, food pantries, low income housing areas, local churches, and other hunger agencies for distribution to the poor."

As the Society grew, the Gleaning Network was developed:
"The Gleaning Network is a project of the Society of St. Andrew that coordinates volunteers, growers, and distribution agencies to salvage food for the needy. Tens of thousands of volunteers from churches, synagogues, scout troops, senior citizen groups, and other organizations participate each year in Society of St. Andrew gleaning activities. Each year some 30,000 people go gleaning with us to pick up over 15 million pounds of fresh, nutritious food for their hungry neighbors."

"The Harvest of Hope is the ecumenical study, worship, and action mission trip program of the Society of St. Andrew. It is designed to educate youth and adults about the problem of hunger. At Harvest of Hope, you will work in fields gleaning food for the hungry, study hunger issues, participate in Christian worship, and have fun!"

Results:
Potato Project (2006)
We salvaged and distributed to America's hungry over 11.1 million pounds of potatoes and other produce through our Potato Project.

Gleaning Network (2005)
Number of events: 2,761
Number of volunteers: 30,744
Pounds gleaned: 15,125,918
Produce sources: 1,015
Distribution agencies: 5,725
The average cost per gleaned pound of food was about a nickel. The average cost per serving of gleaned food was less about two cents.

Harvest of Hope (2007)
11 Harvest of Hope events
595 Participants
201,965 Pounds gleaned

Let us love not only in words, but in deed and in truth.
I John 3:18

www.endhunger.org

-Annie