Gleaning is the process of gathering leftover crops from fields after harvest. During harvest, some food is left behind or not collected because it does not look the same as other crops, which is needed for stores. Other times, fields are left unharvested because it would cost too much to collect the crops.

In modern times, gleaning is used to provide fresh food to people who need it. Dumpster diving, when done to find food or ingredients, is a similar way to recover food. Many groups help with gleaning, such as the Gleaning Network in the UK and the National Gleaning Project in the U.S. These groups work together across the country to link gleaning efforts with other food recovery programs.

History

The word "glean" was first used in English in the 14th Century. It meant both "to collect grain or other crops left behind by farmers" and "to collect information or materials slowly over time." The word comes from Middle English (glenen), Anglo-French (glener), and Late Latin (glen(n)ō), which means "to make a collection." Gleaning has been mentioned in many places throughout history, including in the Bible’s books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Gleaning was an important part of farming and was widely practiced by poor people in rural areas during the 16th and 17th Centuries. In the 18th and 19th Centuries, about one-eighth of the yearly income for families who worked on farms came from gleaning. However, technology from the mid-19th Century greatly reduced gleaning worldwide.

In the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, farmers were told to leave the edges of their fields unharvested (called "pe'ah") and not to pick up crops that had fallen or been missed during harvesting. In one part of Leviticus, the same rule was applied to vineyards, where some grapes were left uncollected. These rules also said that olive trees should not be shaken more than once, and any fruit left after the first shaking should remain. Leviticus said these leftovers were to be given to poor people and strangers, while Deuteronomy said they should be given to widows, strangers, and children who had lost their fathers. The story of Ruth in the Bible describes how Ruth, a widow, gathered leftover crops from fields to support herself and her mother-in-law, Naomi, who was also a widow.

Ancient Jewish writings, called classical rabbinic literature, discussed the rules about leftovers. These writings said the rules only applied to grain fields, orchards, and vineyards. Farmers were not allowed to take the leftover crops for themselves, nor could they treat poor people unfairly or try to scare them away with animals like dogs or lions. Farmers were even not allowed to help poor people collect leftovers. Some writings said these rules only applied in the area of Canaan, but others, written by Jewish scholars in Babylon, believed the rules should be followed there too. Some also said the rules only applied to Jewish poor people, but others believed poor people of other religions could also benefit to keep peace in society.

In many parts of Europe, including England and France, poor people had the right to gather leftover crops from fields. This right was protected by law and continued in some areas of Europe until modern times. In 18th-century England, people without land, called "cottagers," had the legal right to glean. In small villages, the sexton (a church worker) would ring a church bell at 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. to signal when gleaning could begin and end. This legal right ended after a court case called Steel v Houghton in 1788.

Modern times

Gleaning can happen not only in supermarkets but also on farms in the fields. People who help with gleaning, called gleaners, go to farms where farmers give them leftover food from their fields to collect and send to food banks. In New York State in 2010, this type of gleaning saved 3.6 million pounds of fruits and vegetables.

In the Soviet Union, a law called the Law of Spikelets (sometimes called the "law on gleaning") made gleaning illegal. People caught gleaning could face the death penalty or 10 years of forced labor in extreme cases. In the United States, the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act of 1996 reduced the legal risks for people who donate food. This law said donors are only responsible if they act with extreme carelessness or intentionally cause harm. It also overrides state laws that offer less protection to donors.

The Shulchan Aruch, a Jewish religious text, says Jewish farmers are no longer required to follow the old biblical rule about gleaning. However, in modern Israel, some rabbis from Orthodox Judaism believe that during Sabbatical years, Jewish people should allow poor and stranger to take leftover food from fields. On the island of Bali, traditional laws allow people to pick fruit that has fallen to the ground from trees on private land.

Today, gleaning is often done by groups that help people in need. These groups collect food that would otherwise be thrown away, such as food left in supermarkets at the end of the day. Many organizations, like the Society of St. Andrew and the Boston Area Gleaners, work to solve hunger by gathering and distributing food.

In the United States, there are laws that support gleaning. The National Gleaning Project, started by the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law and Graduate School, connects gleaning groups across the United States. It also provides tools like policy guides, sample agreements, and other resources. These laws allow companies to get money for gleaning, require the farming industry to support gleaning efforts, and allow the distribution of food collected through gleaning. In 2020, there were 143 gleaning groups in the United States and Canada combined, collecting between 163,000 and 5.2 million pounds of food that year.

Gleaning in art

Gleaning was a common theme in art, especially during the nineteenth century. In rural France, gleaning was shown in paintings such as Des Glaneuses (1857) by Jean-François Millet and Le rappel des glaneuses (1859) by Jules Breton. It was also discussed in a 2000 documentary/experimental film titled The Gleaners and I, created by Agnès Varda. A sketch titled Peasant Woman Gleaning in Nuenen, The Netherlands (1885) by Vincent van Gogh is part of the Charles Clore collection.

• Jules Breton, The Gleaner, 1875, Aberdeen Art Gallery
• Jules Breton, Le Rappel des glaneuses, 1859
• Léon Augustin Lhermitte, Les glaneuses, 1898

Woolgathering

Woolgathering is an activity similar to gleaning, but it involves collecting small pieces of wool. This wool was often found caught on bushes, fences, or lying on the ground after sheep walked by. The long, aimless walks of a woolgatherer led to the term being used to describe wandering thoughts or a lack of focus.

Fishing

Gleaning along marine coastlines is the practice of collecting seafood by hand or with simple tools in shallow water that is not deeper than a person can stand in. These types of fisheries, which involve walking to gather invertebrates, are found in many coastal areas around the world. They help provide food for people living near the coast.

Ecological gleaning

The term gleaning is used to describe ways of eating that involve taking food from surfaces. For example, in Australia, pardalotes (small songbirds) are well-known for eating lerps, which are scale insects that live on eucalyptus leaves.

Many fish search for food by picking up small items from hard surfaces, which is another example of gleaning.