Lev. 19:9-10 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.
Yahweh made many provisions for the poor, hungry, and downtrodden in legal codes and practices of Israel. One such provision included leaving some of the harvest to be collected by the poor and hungry.
This Saturday, the Emmaus Way community in observation of National Hunger Awareness Day (June 7) and as a practice to further our discussion on relational, cultural, and divine hospitality has the privilege of gleaning fields for the hungry in Durham. We're heading to Bunn, NC (about 75 minutes from Durham) to pick strawberries for hunger relief agencies in Durham. If you're local and want to participate, email us at
We'll we working with the Society of St. Andrew which organizes field gleanings all over the nation. Their website is
From their website:
Gleaning is the Biblical practice of hand-gathering crops left in the fields after harvest. We coordinate volunteers, growers, and distribution agencies to provide food for hungry people through gleaning. The salvaged produce is taken to local food distribution centers. Each year more than 20,000 volunteers participate in our gleaning events .
Did you know:
Americans spend $25 billion on candy each year (according to www.candyusa.org). If each American contributed the cost of one 50cent candy bar each year, all 36 million Americans living with "food insecurity" would be provided with a serving of food every day.
A full-time minimum-wage worker cannot afford to pay the fair market rent for a two-bedroom unit anywhere in America. (According to The National LowIncome Housing Coalition)
Comments