Fraser Valley Gleaners:  producing nutrition from waste
by Selma Hooge

Witnessing the wasteful ways of many Canadians, especially waste of food, is very painful to some of us.  Maybe it’s because we have experienced hunger or we have  heard our parents talk about the Hungaschnot (famine) when millions of Ukrainians and Russians  starved to death. Older Canadians remember  the great Depression during the 30s when people in this country went hungry.
 As Christians we also know that Jesus taught his disciples not to waste. Therefore, many of us heartily endorse the trend toward recycling, reusing and not abusing our country’s wealth and resources. That’s why the Fraser Valley Gleaners (FVG) seems like such a great idea.

 In Bible times gleaners were the poor who went into the fields after the harvest to gather grain for personal use. Volunteers from the FVG sometimes go out into the fields too, to glean broccoli, celery , apples and much more, not because the harvest is finished but because farmers can’t sell for profit what they’ve grown. More often, however, a volunteer truck driver

will go to a farm or packing house to pick up 1,000-pound bins full of donated culls such as tomatoes, potatoes and peppers. Lucerne donates frozen veggies when the “best before” date has expired. Onions have come from Walla Walla, Washington.

 At the FVG plant on Winson Rd. in south Abbotsford (near the Sumas border), all the gleaned produce is chopped, sliced and prepared for dehydration. In one eight hour cycle, 1,200 pounds of produce will be dried  to 10% moisture.   Dehydrated food lasts indefinitely and is light weight for shipping. (remember “jereischte Tweiback” and “jedraejdet Oaft?” roasted buns and dried fruit)  There may be as many as twelve ingredients, including crushed  legumes, plus salt,  in the  finished product which is sealed in a plastic bag and labeled, “In Christ’s Name”  with instructions how to make the soup; only water is necessary to make a tasty meal. The apples that are dehydrated are packaged separately for a delicious snack.

 The main aim of the FVG is to provide a nutritious product for sending to starving people in poor countries, at the same time preventing as much waste as possible here.  One package of mix makes one hundred soup servings.

 For shipping to other countries, 70 bags are packed into a drum; 80 drums fit into a 20 foot container.  Churches or  other charitable organizations then take on the cost of shipping, and also oversee distribution.  The facility Gleaners use belongs to MCC and in return, MCC receives 30% of what the Gleaners produce for distribution in countries of their choice.  Other distributors include organizations like Seeds of Hope,
Canadian Food for the Hungry, and dozens more. Countries all over the world have received shipments: Guatemala, Bosnia, Ukraine, Mexico, to name a few.  The FVG brochure says,” We require the distributors to give us feedback and pictures from every shipment so that we can relay this to our supporters.”

 Supporters are the volunteers who work at the plant, the board members, drivers, donors, and those who pray. The main fund raiser is an annual banquet. Volunteers and members also take every opportunity to publicize the work of Gleaners at special  church events and charitable functions.

  Between 30 to 40 volunteers arrive each weekday morning when the bulk of the washing, chopping and cutting is done.  Groups of students,  Care Groups and others come evenings to help. Often, Carl Goosen, the manager and the only salaried person,  has to work overtime. He says it is getting hard to find persons who are committed to work those odd hours, like 2:00 a.m. when drying trays need changing.
 Fortunately, there are usually several couples who have come from other parts of the province or Canada to donate one or two months to the Gleaners. They live in their own motor homes or trailers on site.
To learn more about the Fraser Valley Gleaners,  phone Carl at 604-870-9272 or check the web www.fvgleaners.org,  e-mail info@fvgleaners.org   A current need is a new source of the  drums for shipping.