The boys’ and girls’ basketball teams from Blair Academy answered the shout-out from LocalShare and recently spent an afternoon gleaning 544 pounds of turnips from Caristi Farm in Blairstown.
Gleaning is an age-old practice where people gather the useful remnants of a crop from the field after harvesting. Often, after a farmer has harvested a field, some of the crop remains behind, perhaps because the vegetables are too small, slightly bruised, or otherwise inappropriate for market. Yet, they are perfectly edible.
LocalShare, a program of the Foodshed Alliance that connects people in need with local, organic food, organizes gleaning projects to both assist local farmers and to deliver food to those who need it most. The turnips, all 544 lbs. of them, went to soup kitchens and food pantries in Warren and Sussex counties. Some will be served during community meals and the rest will be placed in weekly and Thanksgiving baskets. To help people prepare the turnips, LocalShare donated these recipe cards.
