Group of people wearing high vis vests stand or crouch in a group. All are looking at the camera and smiling. A pale brown dog is also sat with them. They are in an orchard with trees in the background

Rescuing food from the field to fight hunger  

FareShare South West is part of a pioneering gleaning scheme working with growers to harvest surplus crops and share them 

For orchard owner Rob, a bumper crop of apples and lack of resources to pick them meant a potentially costly problem. 

“It got to the stage over the last few years where most of the fruit wasn’t picked and just fell on the ground, which doesn’t do the soil any good,” he says.  

FareShare South West has a simple, effective solution that benefits both growers and people in our communities. 

This ancient practice, called gleaning, sees teams of volunteers rescue good quality fruit or vegetables directly from fields to ensure that good food grown with care reaches those who need it. 

Close up of apples on a tree in an orchard. There is grass, more apple trees and a small wooden shed in the background

On a sunny autumn day, a team of fabulous volunteers from Hargreaves Lansdown joined us in Rob’s Gloucestershire orchard for a day of apple picking, fuelled by tea and cakes kindly donated by Cakesmiths. 

Together, we filled 70 crates (weighing a mighty 675kg) with delicious, locally grown fruit that would otherwise have gone to waste. Every single one of these apples was taken back to our Bristol hubs and shared with small charities, schools and food clubs in our communities.  

For volunteer Marcus, it was eye-opening to see just how many apples could be rescued: 

“We’ve come here today to pick some apples because, otherwise, they were just going to go to waste, which would be such a shame. So, we’re so happy to be able to help put them to good use,” says Marcus.

“There are an incredible number of apples here on only a few trees. Before today, I’d probably have thought an apple tree has about 100 apples. But there are thousands, it’s unbelievable how much one tree can produce. 

“And it’s really great to save as many as we can for people to enjoy.” 

Man wearing a high vis vest and grey jumper sits on a tarpaulin sorting apples in an orchard. There's a crate of apples in front of him and more on the tarpaulin

This Gloucestershire orchard owner isn’t alone in facing problems with surplus produce. Perfectly edible crops are left in fields and allotments every year – whether due to cosmetic standards, oversupply, or the costs of harvesting. 

Thanks to a grant from Defra’s Tackling Food Surplus at the Farm Gate scheme, we can now work directly with farmers and growers to harvest produce that would otherwise go to waste.  

In addition, it helps prevent some of the problems and costs associated with wasted crops. 

As Rob says: 

“When we discovered you could use them, and for such a useful reason, we were only too delighted for you to come.” 

Woman wearing high vis vest and a white t-shirt reaches up to pick apples from a tree. She is smiling and has three apples in her other hand

An opportunity to create change in our food system 

For FareShare South West, it’s an exciting opportunity to work in collaboration with charities, farmers and volunteers to create real change in our food system and maximise our environmental and social impact. 

“Currently, more than one million people in the south west are living with food insecurity,” says Lucy Bearn, CEO of FareShare South West. 

“With healthy food twice as expensive per calorie as unhealthy, our work to rescue nutritious, surplus food and share it means people in our local communities who might otherwise go without can access a healthy diet, and all the benefits it brings. We are part of the solution to the broken food system. 

“The beauty of gleaning is that it enables us to access some of the finest, fresh fruit and vegetables while also benefitting the growers. We effectively take any surplus produce off their hands at no cost at all.” 

Man in the foreground has his back to the camera. He's wearing a high vis vest that says 'volunteer' and has the FareShare South West logo on. He is sitting opposite a woman, also wearing high vis. They are both sorting apples in an orchard
Two men wearing high vis vests kneel on a tarpaulin as they sort apples in an orchard. Both of them are looking at the camera and smiling

A fruitful day out of the office  

Volunteers Katie and Josie quickly perfected the art of shaking the apple tree and carefully sorting the fallen fruit from a clean tarpaulin into crates. 
 
“We are here today to support FareShare South West to give back to the community by helping pick the apples from the orchard here in Gloucester,” they say. 

“It’s been very interesting to learn how this produce is getting to the people that need it and limiting waste. And it’s just been so nice to be outside, getting out of the office and doing something a bit different so we’re having a great day.” 

Marcus adds: “We’ve been really lucky with the weather, which always helps. 

“Everyone’s been very organised, very nice, very helpful and so I really recommend it to anyone who has got the time to come and do it.” 

Woman wearing a high vis vest and black jumper smiles at the camera as she sorts apples into a crate. She is crouching in an orchard
Side profile of woman wearing high vis vest using a long pole with a grabber to pick apples off a tree in an orchard

Want to get involved?

Collaboration is at the heart of what we do here at FareShare South West. If you’d be interested in finding out more about corporate volunteering opportunities, visit our partnerships page to find out more and get in touch.

If you’re a farmer, allotment grower or smallholder and you’re interested in working with us to make the best possible use of the food you’ve grown, keep an eye on our socials and website for updates on gleaning, or contact us by emailing tony.coletto@faresharesouthwest.org.uk.

FareShare South West is an independent local charity

We work in partnership with national charity FareShare who support us with food, projects and raising awareness of food justice for all.

Find out more about what we do