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By the Rev. Mike Hickcox*
7:00 A.M. EST August 16, 2011
The Rev. Andy Brock, of Greenwood United Methodist Church in Winchester,
Va., often gleans several mornings a week. He says he recommend
gleaning to his congregation, and “If I preach it, I have to live it
too.” UMNS photos by Mike Hickcox.
View in photo gallery
No one was out in the fields, under the hot sun, for the sake of the
camera. They were there to help feed hungry people. For two days in
late July, the camera was present, getting interviews, shots of
volunteers spread across the fields, and close-ups of hands pulling
ripe peaches from trees and twisting corn off stalks.
Scenes like this happen on most hot, summer days in Winchester in
northern Virginia. Volunteers — who arrive from all directions in cars,
vans and pickup trucks — suddenly disturb the tranquility of a
farmer’s field. A farmer has finished harvesting a section of orchard
or field, and much good produce remains, if only someone would come and
get it.
Society of St. Andrew area gleaning coordinator Betty Heishman
puts out the call, and volunteer gleaners from many churches show up,
all with the same intention: to spend two to three hours gleaning good,
fresh food that will be delivered that day. The recipients will
be area food pantries, soup kitchens, older adults’ homes and other
agencies feeding people in need.
However, the two days in July were unlike typical gleaning days.
Debra Gonsher Vinik, of Diva Communications in New York, was waiting for
the gleaners, along with her husband, videographer David Vinik, and
local audio engineer Doug Palmer. Gonsher Vinik was gathering video for
a TV documentary called “A Piece of Bread: Food, Earth, and the
Future.” The National Council of Churches commissioned the documentary,
slated to run on ABC network affiliates in late November.
‘Come and get it’
One segment of the documentary will show these gleaners eagerly
gathering peaches in John Marker’s orchard, and corn in Bill Cline’s
field. Both farmers have invited Society of St. Andrew to “come and get
it.” Both regularly donate crops this way. Many of the gleaners have
been to these locations many times.
The Rev. Andy Brock arrived in Winchester, Va., six years ago as
pastor of Greenwood United Methodist Church. During the season, he
answers the gleaning call as often as three mornings a week. He says it
is a spiritual discipline to do service and feeding the hungry is a
wonderful way to follow the commands of Jesus.
A parishioner of Grace United Methodist Church, Gail Hahn, is a
regular gleaner. She considers this a perfect way to “feed my sheep” as
her hard work makes it possible for hungry people to enjoy fresh,
nutritious food.
The United Methodist Men’s Foundation and the National Association
of Conference Presidents of United Methodist Men underwrote this
documentary segment. Both organizations are affiliates of the United
Methodist Commission on United Methodist Men. As it turns out, the
gleaners caught by the camera this day include members of half a dozen
United Methodist churches.
In the cornfield, three men gather to bag a pile of fresh-picked
corn. One is Tom Bryant, of Ardenstown United Methodist Church. Bryant
also delivers some of the gleaned food to a food bank, a men’s homeless
shelter, a women’s mission and a home for mentally challenged adults.
Gleaning in two dozen states
The second man is Robert Brooks, a member of Wesley United Methodist
Church, who retired from an airline job in 2002. His first experience
with Society of St. Andrew was a “potato drop” almost 30 years ago in
which he bagged a 40,000-pound truckload of potatoes. The third man is
retired anesthesiologist Rick Creasy, a member of Braddock Street
United Methodist Church. He gleans two to three times a week, his
chance to enjoy fresh air and nice people as he works hard to help
others.
Each day, more than 20 gleaners – United Methodists, Presbyterians,
Pentecostals, Baptists, Congregationalists and others – sweat together
in the sun, talking, laughing and working hard. At the end of the day,
around the dinner table at home, each will know others also are
eating fresh food because they gleaned that day.
Every year, Society of St. Andrew coordinates thousands of gleaning
events like these in two dozen states. Many of the gleaning coordinators
are Hunger Relief Advocates, coordinated by the United Methodist Men
in various annual (regional) conferences. Each year, the organization
and its volunteers save 20 to 30 million pounds of fresh produce and
deliver at no cost to feeding agencies across the United States.
Editor’s note: The ABC network will distribute
the documentary to all of its affiliate stations on Nov. 20. Local
stations will decide if and when to air the hour-long show. Call your
local ABC affiliate to learn if the show will air.
*Hickcox is communications director for the Society of St. Andrew.
News media contact: Maggie Hillery, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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