About MAGNET

Our Mission is to fight hunger by harvesting fresh fruits and vegetables from farms and orchards.

MAGNET’s vision derived from the Christian commitment of feeding the hungry, continues the centuries-old Biblical practice of gleaning fresh produce from fields, orchards, and packing facilities. Food which would be otherwise wasted is donated by farmers, harvested by volunteers, and distributed to low-income communities and individuals through food providers such as food banks, shelters, and soup kitchens.

This partnership of MAGNET farms, donors, volunteers, and food providers is one that improves health and nutrition, breaks down barriers between people, builds self-esteem in all participants, and involves the whole community in the vital task of reducing hunger.

Poor health conditions and a marked lack of good nutrition is prominent in many neighborhoods suffering from poverty, lack of access to fresh produce, unsanitary living conditions and ignorance of general principles and practices.

The Gleaning Network links farmers who have crops that are edible but not marketable with those who distribute food to the needy through the work of volunteer gleaners. Our staff organized teams of people to go to local farms to harvest fresh nutritious fruits and vegetables to be given to low-income individuals, families, as well as agencies or communities that serve the hungry.

When a farmer in our network calls with available produce to glean, our staff contacts one or more of our gleaning groups and they go to the fields for a gleaning event. These volunteers come from all walks of life and all are welcome to participate. They include church groups, service clubs, schools, college organizations, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H Clubs, senior citizens, inner city public housing community residents, and interested individuals. In the fields gleaners harvest the produce that 3would otherwise be plowed under or left to rot. They fill the bags and other containers that the Gleaning Network provides. The gleaned produce is transported to agencies or neighborhoods to feed the hungry in low-income households.

This program is booming because:

• It brings together a very wide range of people
• The goal of recovering food to feed the hungry has enormous appeal
• It is a hands-on experience
• It has an extremely low cost per pound of food
• It has a favorable impact on the operating budgets of a large number of organizations that feed the poor

What We Do

• Find Farmers willing to give access to food
• Organize gleaning teams
• Recruit volunteers
• Train leaders
• Arrange gleaning events
• Transport poor people to the fields
• Supply produce containers
• Supervise gleaning events
• Transport gleaned produce
• Distribute food to poor people
• Host special events for hunger awareness