Volunteers in Cornwall, in south-west England, have collected and donated more than £1 million worth of fresh fruit and vegetables that would otherwise have been left behind in farm fields. The charity, called Gleaning Cornwall, gathers unwanted crops after farmers finish their harvest and delivers them to 160 food banks, community kitchens, and larders.
The practice of collecting leftover food from fields is known as gleaning. Since the group began in 2020, its volunteers have saved over 460 tonnes of produce. The charity now feeds around 11,000 people every week, with a strict rule that all of the food must be given to people completely free of charge.
However, the organisation warned that it urgently needs more financial support to keep going. The costs of transport, storage, and organisation have risen quickly, while the demand for food aid is higher than ever. Local government figures show that the number of places providing food support in Cornwall has jumped from 20 in 2015 to 180 today, and a council study found that 30 percent of children in the county live in food poverty.
Holly Whitelaw, who founded the charity, urged people to also reduce food waste in their own homes. She explained that throwing away food also wastes the substantial amount of energy that went into producing it, adding that making use of existing food saves money and helps protect the environment.