AUTRYVILLE, N.C. (AP) - The heaviness in the heat fell over the 75-acres of crops at Williams Produce while a group of dedicated volunteers scoured a field for leftover sweet corn.
They carefully snapped the corn from the stalks and plopped it into buckets. By mid-afternoon, these volunteers had collected about 5,500 pounds of corn and seven bushels of tomatoes.
“I like to come out and volunteer,” said Tanisha Gray-Smith, of Bayer Crop Science division in the Research Triangle. “I brought my seven-year-old son. We like to do what we can to help and give back to the community.”
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This past Wednesday, about 60 volunteers from Bayer’s Crop Science Division teamed with the Society of St. Andrew to glean corn and tomatoes from Williams Produce in Autryville. The surplus crops picked up by the volunteers will go to a lunch program for 400 needy children in Wayne County.
Bayer’s Crop Science division researches and develops crop protection products.
Leo Magalhaes works in a Bayer Crop Science unit that produces soybeans to control insects. He brought his two young daughters to volunteer so they could learn more about his job - and where food really comes from.
“It’s good to come and see where food comes from - not the grocery store,” Magalhaes said. “I want them to see how we help farmers feed the world.”
The volunteers walked through a field searching for ripe corn that was left behind. Normally, the farmer would just till over the leftover crop.
That never sit right with farmer Dwight Williams, whose son operates the family’s 75-acre produce farm.
The Williams family has to balance how much produce they need to make a profit, but routinely calls on the Society of St. Andrew to glean left over crops they know will benefit the area’s neediest residents.
“We do it because I’d hate to see anything waste,” Williams said. “And I enjoy being able to help and give back to the community.”
The Society of St. Andrew has been gleaning farms in North Carolina for years. The society welcomes volunteer organizations to help them work through fields.
Last year, the society partnered with 11,000 volunteers to glean 5 million pounds of sweet potatoes, corn, tomatoes, watermelon and squash across North Carolina.
Tricia Lounsberry, who has been gleaning with the society for 13 years, said they appreciate the farmers who let them pick up the leftover harvest. All of the food goes to organizations that feed people in need, she said.
This collection will go to a mobile food pantry in Wayne County that will run a lunch program for needy children on summer break from school. Past collections have been donated to organizations in Cumberland County.
The society gleans at least three days a week, but will even go out on Sundays after church, if a farmer will allow it.
It’s laborious work on hot days, but Lounsberry continues to glean.
“I love it,” she said, wiping sweat from her forehead. “It’s just in my heart. My parents instilled in me to give back.”
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Information from: The Fayetteville Observer, https://www.fayobserver.com
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