Gleaning for food bank manual aimed at recruiting

A P.E.I. volunteer group is writing a gleaning manual, to encourage more Islanders to help them gather food from harvested fields for people in need.

The P.E.I. Food Exchange started up this summer. Volunteers glean, pick produce from farmers' fields after they are harvested. The farmers get a portion and most of it goes to Island food banks.

During the winter the group is writing a manual on how to glean: including what to wear, safety precautions and the best ways to pick.

"It's important because number one, it's fun, just a lot of fun," said group member Keith Kennedy.

"Then the outcome of it is that we're coming back with, at times, 1,400 pounds (625 kg) worth of food that we put right into the food bank. So that's a pretty positive impact on the system."

Kennedy said the group will also be hosting workshops for potential volunteers over the winter. Last summer the group picked more than 3,600 kilograms of produce for local food banks.