150,000 Pounds of Produce to Area Food Banks
A team of volunteers has been working for more than 10 years to erase food insecurity in the New River Valley community, as they provide baskets of fresh, nutritious foods to those in need.
Led by Virginia Tech soil science professor and St. Mary’s Catholic Church parishioner, John Galbraith, and his wife Marilyn, the Glean Team is a group of volunteers with the mission of providing fresh, nutritious food to the community as they help combat food insecurity in Virginia. The Glean Team sorts, bags, and distributes boxes of vegetables to food banks. The team distributes approximately 150,000 lbs. of fresh produce each year to nearly 40 food banks in Virginia and West Virginia.
“Our parish did a survey to identify the highest priority of outreach needs, and hunger/food insecurity was number one. I heard God’s voice telling me that He needed me to gather the excess food and deliver it to food banks, solving two problems at once,” says John Galbraith, on his inspiration for creating this ministry.
Nearly 13 years ago, Galbraith and volunteers from St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Blacksburg imagined a world where those in need had easy access to fresh and nutritious foods, rather than heavily processed, shelf-stable cans and boxes. In order to combat food insecurity and reduce food waste, the group, now called the Glean Team, began partnering with local farms to harvest leftover produce to distribute to nearby food banks. Through the support of grants and other volunteers, the group plants and collects additional crops and even purchases produce from sellers.
“We know that it pleases God that we make efforts to help those less fortunate,” says John Galbraith. “It is our way of expressing gratitude for all of the blessings we have received from Him. After all, it could have been us who needed the help.”
Throughout the country, families in the U.S. are struggling to put food on their tables. According to Feeding America, more than 963,000 Virginians faced food insecurity in 2022, approximately 11% of the state’s population.
The team’s goal is to provide nutritious foods so people can thrive in all areas of life. By having access to nutritious foods, people can live healthier lives, miss work less often due to increased health, kids can focus more at school, and families can save money on groceries so they can use it to focus on other bills or needs.
To learn more about the efforts of the Glean Team or for interviews, please contact John Galbraith at ttcf@vt.edu.
