Most food producers don't want you to know where your food is coming from. During the month of February, the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, OH, is dedicated to providing its viewers with a series of films about the American food industry titled, "Films about our Food". Films are only 5 dollars for students, and a full listing can be found on their film and video page. It's not too late to get in on the action!
Recently, I saw "The Gleaner's and I", a film about people who "gather" or "collect" food that is otherwise rejected by society. For some people it has cultural meaning, for others it is a means of survival, and still there are others who glean purely to make a political statement. What ever the reason may be, gleaning is a great way to ensure that food does not go to waste.
The best way to collect clean and nutritious food for free is to visit a local farm in your surrounding area. When farmers harvest their food with machinery, a portion of the food closest to the ground gets left behind. This is where you come in! (provided you are the legally required distance away from the harvester :) If this seems a little too scary for you, farmers will also pile unwanted grains and vegetables for people to take at their leisure. There is a limit on how much you can take, but what would the average person do with 100 lbs of funny-looking potatoes?
(Valentine's Day gift?)
America has become so obsessed with how food looks that farmers will discard gems such as this one purely because a consumer would pass it by. Personally, it'd be my first choice, but I guess I'm not making the decision for everyone. In addition to gleaning on a farm setting there has also emerged "urban gleaning". This includes everything from grubbing through trash cans on the street to methodically searching through grocery and convenient store dumpsters at the end of the day.
These people gather food that stores discard once it has surpassed the "best if sold by" date. In the film, people find whole loaves of bread, bags of apples, cucumbers, herbs, and even fish that is only just expired and still entirely edible. I'm sure any college student such as myself finds the possibility of this very appealing. People can even "glean" on shorelines where fisherman are catching oysters and clams as long as they stay at an appropriate distance away from their nets.
To wrap it up, you have the "right" to glean, and I may even stretch it and say you and I have the moral obligation to. If more people demanded that food was used in a responsible way, then maybe small improvements in global food distribution could be made. If nothing else, it's a new experience. You can find a farm in any state, just search for a farm near you that you may like (there are several online directories available) and find out when harvesting occurs. Once you've accomplished this, bring a couple friends and some bags for an afternoon of gleaning :)
Also in attendance at the screening was Local Foods. They promote the consumption of locally grown fruits, vegetables, dairy, you name it. A great way to learn more about how to start finding locally grown food is to go to their website; it contains a link to restaurants in the Columbus area that have committed to serving local food, listings of nearby farmer's markets, and suggestions on how to become more involved. By supporting local farms, you're supporting your community and the consumption of healthier food :) For those of you not in the Columbus area, farmer's markets and restaurants serving local produce can be found in every state.
