A few weeks ago I posted about my first experiences with the gleaning co-op that I have joined which resulted in many interesting questions. I thought I’d drop in and update you about how it’s going, how it’s affecting our “bottom line” and if it’s worth it.

First off: It’s a huge time commitment. I spend five to seven hours a week processing food. Picking it up in a nearby town, and then cleaning, composting, chopping, canning, freezing, etc.

Second: It’s totally unpredictable. Most weeks I pick up two banana-boxes of food. Last week I picked up six. (Roughly 250 lbs of food to deal with).

Third: It’s not flexible. If six boxes of food get picked up, six boxes of food must be dealt with. If it’s not done ASAP, fruit flies, mold and spoilage will ruin your next several days. You cannot ever be too busy to “deal” with whatever presents itself in the boxes. Even if it includes 35 lbs of cactus leaves, 150 bags of hamburger buns and two boxes of aged radishes.

That said, out of each pickup, we feed our family for a week and freeze extra. We also provide fruits, bread, vegetables and dairy products for as many as eight additional families.

My husband jokes about “food bank day at the Wards” but truly, it’s been benefiting many people.

Overall it’s reducing our monthly food budget by about $250 a month. It would be a greater reduction if I wasn’t doing the Atkins diet which is kind of expensive, so yes it’s worth it, especially when we add in the number of people we’ve been able to help with it. The other day I was able to make a fantastic eggplant Parmesan for six for a grand total of $0.33. (All I had to buy was the eggs—everything else came in the box).

Honestly, I’m enjoying the adventure and the opportunity to involve my oldest in this lesson in planning, thriftiness and resourcefulness and caring for those in need. She always looks forward to the boxes and wonders eagerly what treasures might be in there and she’s learned a great deal about the needs of others. We’ll be keeping this project up for a while I think.

Many have asked why this food is going to volunteers and not food banks. Generally, the non-perishables all go directly to food banks. Most food banks aren’t set up to process gleaned produce and breads and the ones that are, tend to have far more than they can handle. Most food banks prefer to buy fresher produce and dairy in bulk because the quantity and quality is reliable. We work with families in need from our own neighborhood and from our church to distribute as many items as we can on an individual basis. Otherwise, we’re just diverting items that would otherwise be sent to the landfill because the next inventory shipment has arrived or the item has a cosmetic flaw that results in it being unsalable.

If you’re interested in starting a co-op of your own, you can take a look at the by-laws and organization structure of the one that I’ve joined.

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I’m about 3/4 the way through “Stop Acting Rich” by the same author of “The Millionaire Next Door“, Thomas Stanley.

The good news is that for the most part, my consumption and spending habits match exactly with the frugal millionaires (or Toyota Millionaires) that Stanley lusts over.

I don’t even drink Vodka, but if I did, I’m sure it would be the $10 bottle brand, not the $60 grey goose brand.

I drive a Toyota, which is good according to the book (well built, not flashy, good value). And I don’t lease. My car isn’t totally paid off yet, but I hope to have it paid off at the end of this month. Then I’ll go buy a new Mercedes….

Just kidding. My fiancee and I will probably keep my Scion Xb (a Toyota brand) for years to come. It’s a great little car.

Now, the one part of the book that worries me a little bit is that Stanley statistics show that the area you live in determines your spending habits. Not a shocker, but I think this will be a struggle for me when I move. We are planning to live in a nicer neighborhood in Portland, though will be renting. I don’t think our spending habits will change, but according the “Stop Acting Rich” they most certainly will.

I know for a fact our food budget is going to go down. It’s always been my Achilles heel. I’m just not much of a cook, and I’m willing to part with dollars to get food. I love food. So, our food budget has been way too high for a long time. Living together however, and without the stressful job my fiancee has now, I think we will cook a ton more. In fact, I know we will. As cliche as it is, she is looking forward to cooking more, and I’m looking forward to eating! (and doing the dishes of course!)

Why do so many people, especially my age group (young professionals), “Act Rich”.

Well, we think that to be “Rich” you have to drive a Mercedes, and buy a fancy condo. We don’t drive around town with our savings account balances as our hood ornaments, but maybe we should.

So, as I prepare to live in a nicer part of town after I’m married, both me and my wife will vow to not “act rich”. One, because we aren’t. And two, because being rich isn’t about status symbols. It’s about freedom, and the ability to sleep at night without worrying that the Repo man is taking away your leased Mercedes.

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For 2010, I’m trying to be even more frugal. As I mentioned before, there’s just $7,000 left of debt to bust and I’m looking for a way to get there even sooner. Groceries consume about $500 in our budget each month for our family of four, so that’s certainly a candidate for “tweaking.” Sure, we could give up the few organics that we buy, or we could eliminate meat and eggs, but my low-carb diet would make that really hard. So I’ve decided to start gleaning.

What is Gleaning, exactly?

Perhaps you are wondering what gleaning is. Gleaning is a the process of salvaging food that stores can no longer sell, or crops that are left behind after a harvest. It’s such an old practice that it is even discussed in the Bible.

This week, I joined a co op gleaning group. It’s a non-profit and I pay an annual membership of $30 to support the groups’ activities. There are about 30 members and they take turns with their responsibilities. This way I’ll only be going to stores to pick up items two to three times per month, however, other members get the other days. This way, each store is gleaned each day and doesn’t have to hold spoiling merchandise. We’ll all be getting it fresh enough to freeze or preserve. Once a week, I’ll pick up my “share” of the gleans from a central location. All told,  it’s a time commitment, of 3-5 hours per week.

We’re encouraged to share our surplus with others in the community—I have several elderly fixed-income neighbors and will share with others in my church if there is anyone in need.

Where do you glean?

My group will glean a major warehouse store, a natural foods market, two supermarkets and two bakeries. Additionally, I’ve signed up for crop gleans and salmon gleans (when the Department of Fish and Wildlife has collected the roe that they need from salmon for hatcheries they need somewhere to send the dead fish and our gleaning group is a recipient).

Since I can, juice and freeze, the erratic nature of the gleans will work for me—if one day yields 7 lbs of aged grapes, I can figure out what to do with that pretty quickly. This summer I bulk-purchased tomatoes and peaches and canned those. Gleaned tomatoes may be too blemished to can, but could be turned in to spaghetti sauce and canned. While many would consider a crate of zuchinni a blight, I can think of what to do with it in no time. (One thing about gleaning is that you can’t pick-and-choose—you have to take the entire glean).

Tonight after my orientation, I followed my new friend to the house that hosted the day’s bread glean. She didn’t want all of her share of bread, so invited me to pick up whatever I’d like. It was a great surprise to come home with several loaves of artisan bread from a bakery and a big bag of bagels. (I’m so regretting my low-carb diet right now).

I go to train in stores Monday and Tuesday and should be able to post on gleaning progress before long.

Find a gleaning club

If you have volunteer time and a car (the bigger the better) and would like to join a gleaning club, they can be hard to find. Good places to start looking are local community message boards, food co-ops, churches, cooperative extensions through local universities (usually Agriculture universities) and food banks. Some food banks allow gleaners who volunteer on behalf of the food bank to share in the glean as well in exchange for their time.

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