Fruitful Labor of Volunteers Feeds Community

The market gleaners had a very busy summer! Our volunteers collected over 1000lbs of produce for eight weeks this summer. Thank you to all who did the heavy lifting and sorting to bring all that produce to our community. We’re seeing a turn towards fall produce at the market, especially that classic fall fruit: apples, apples, and more apples. We also added 14 new volunteers to our team this summer. Welcome! If you would also like to join our team, feel free to email gleanballard@gmail.com.

The gleaning program, part of Sustainable Ballard, is an opportunity for volunteers to donate their time to the community by collecting donated food from vendors at the Ballard Farmers Market and bringing it to the Ballard Food Bank. Last year, we collected over 18,000 pounds of food for the Food Bank! Gleaning is a great way to connect with other volunteers, vendors, and the farmers market staff, all while helping to ensure that our neighbors have access to fresh, local produce