Reducing Food Waste and Staying Frugal with Skagit Gleaners!

Hey there Seedlings! Megs here to discuss something super duper exciting...produce!  Well, let me back up.  Produce in and of itself isn't all that thrilling, but getting quality produce (and fresh bread, milk, and pastry etc) in a super frugal way that also helps the environment?! Sign me up!!!!

A friend introduced me to a local not for profit organization today called Skagit Gleaners.  Now, bear with me as this was my first experience with Gleaners, so I will be sharing my experience and for the details/info on how it all works and the rules, I would recommend visiting their website.  For non-local readers, do a search to see if there is something similar in your area.  If you can't find anything, ask around at places like the local food co-op; someone is bound to know something :D

This organization procures produce, bread products, and more from local farmers and businesses for members to glean and take home to feed their own families.  The yearly membership fee is very reasonable, and for that you get to "shop" (choose up to the daily limit of lbs/food in the Gleaners Market) up to three times per week (at current) at the Gleaners Market during scheduled hours.  During each "shop" you can glean up to a certain amount of groceries (by the pound).  In addition to fresh produce, on the day I visited there were day old pastries from a high quality national coffee shop chain, fresh day old bread from a high quality national bread company, and great fresh produce from farmer and grocery store bins as well as some other random special items (including fresh strawberries!).  On my initial visit, I was impressed by the variety and freshness of the products available.  When it was time to weigh in, I was only at 12 lbs...I could've actually gotten more than that and if you have a large family, this could really help reduce your grocery bill (it will help our family even with just the three of us!).  Members must volunteer at least 4 hours per month, and there is a wide variety of options available for volunteering.  I was so pleased with the tour and produce/groceries gleaned that I am going to sign up to be a member.  What an awesome way to get nutritious food for your family and also save food from the landfill!

And lest you think it was all icky stuff, here are pictures of what I gleaned today (the squash and zucchini are huge!)  I was super happy and next time will probably glean more fruit (granted, this is after washing the produce; a few spots etc were present but just needed to be pruned/washed):

I am excited to see what the rest of the year brings :D