90 degrees + picking corn + long pants/sleeves for protection + no pay = fun!
It’s hard to believe that that equation really works, but when the food goes to help hungry folks, it sure does. That’s gleaning for you.
It had been a while–too long–since I’d gotten out there and picked crops for those in need. This weekend I had a chance to get back to one of the more enjoyable stints of manual labor out there. It was my first time supervising an outing, and it won’t be my last.
The outing was a humble affair, as one of the groups of volunteers canceled at the last minute. Yet, we still managed to get a good amount from 16 rows of corn that had been picked through once. A group of 10 volunteers gathered 1,000 pounds of corn in about 90 minutes (stopping short of the normal two hours after picking through our allotted rows).
Another first: I delivered the crops. One of the scheduled drivers’ pickup broke down, necessitating some hatchback action. And the back seat worked just fine for the bag of the snap beans that the farmer, “Mr. Strickland,” generously gave us.
It was nice to see the process through, dropping 40 plastic shopping bags full of corn and the beans at a transitional facility for the recently homeless. And it was also neat being able to put my money where my mouth is (finally).
Comments
2 responses to “Ears to You”
Do you happen to know if these farmers get a tax deduction when they donate food? I’ve been asking around and have yet to get a solid answer. I think most farmers donate out of the goodness of their hearts, but it would be nice to acknowledge their donations with deductions too. Thanks.
Farmers who are incorporated can take tax deductions. many growers, even if they are incorporated, don’t bother to take them, though. That’s probably because it’s mostly a ‘goodness of their heart’ thing. But we give them the total poundage so they can decide.