The Gleaning Network UK

After our session @oxfordrealfarmingconference , we caught up with the lovely Lucinda @foodcardiff who is hoping to set up gleaning around the city. 🌱 👩‍🌾 if you’re thinking about setting up your own gleaning project, now is a great time to start reaching out and building networks with farmers before they get too busy later in the year. Our handy toolkit has lots of tips and resources to get you going- 🔗 in bio #foodpartnership #cymru #foodwaste #sustainablefood

Happy 2026 folks! If you’re looking for more fresh air, community and purpose this year, swipe left to see why gleaning might be just the thing for you 🍎 Share with someone you’d like to go gleaning with in 2026! #gleaning #sussex #foodwaste #lovefoodhatewaste #community

What a year it’s been for our Sussex Gleaning Team! Here’s a little summary of what we’ve achieved alongside our incredible volunteers and generous farming partners in 2025: 🥕 Collectively we rescued 13.411 tonnes of fruit and veg from farms across Sussex (& occasionally Kent!) 🌏 Preventing this food being wasted equates to saving >36 tonnes of CO2 🧤 This fresh produce was harvested across 24 gleans and 6 pack-house collections  🧑‍🌾 We had 60 volunteers and 126 volunteer attendances over the year 🍎 Harvested food was very donated to many brilliant partner organisations who support people facing food poverty across the region: @sussexsurplus , @faresharesussexsurrey , @faresharekent , @thefelixproject , @cityharvestlondon @brightonpermaculture , @realjunkfoodbrighton @havensfoodcooperative , SEA Climate Hub, and several food banks and community food projects local to our gleaning volunteers. A very heartfelt thank you to *everyone* who has been part of our gleaning work this year, this is only possible because of your generosity of time, energy, enthusiasm and resources. In 2026 we hope that there is less food waste, more support for farmers, and greatly improved food security for all 💚 #gleaning #gleaningnetwork #foodwaste #lovefoodhatewaste #communityaction #volunteers #sussex #foodies

A beautiful morning in the winter sun with Sophie from @pitfield.veg and 7 of our trusty gleaning volunteers! We harvested 65kg’s of delicious parnsips, that couldn’t be sold due to cosmetic damage. They were very gratefully received by @sussexsurplus , our Brighton-based project that supports people facing food poverty, prevents food waste and creates meaningful paid opportunities for young people facing barriers to employment 💚 A huge thank you to our wonderful gleaning volunteers, and to Sophie for inviting us back to Pitfield Veg! 🥕 #parsnips #gleaning #sussex #volunteer #gleaningnetwork #ukfarming

We asked Nicola, a gleaning volunteer in Suffolk, why she goes gleaning… 🌻🌿🌱🫛🍐

We 💚 gleaning because it's brilliant example of environmental and social action: 🌽 Food waste is reduced because gleaners harvest produce left in the field that would otherwise not be sold 🌲Volunteers are able to connect with their local food system through getting their hands dirty in the fields and orchards (and meet new pals in the process) 🌾Gleaned food is delivered to a variety of local food projects, who are often lacking fresh-produce donations. Some recent reflections from a volunteer when asked why they signed up; "Helping the community, being outside, and having never been to a pumpkin farm before, I wanted to see how they grew!" #foodwaste #volunteering #gleaning #harvest

We just wanted to take a moment to congratulate @stillgoodf gleaners in Suffolk, who have just surpassed their target 36 tonnes of produce gleaned this year 💃 🕺 🪩 🥕 🍅 which is DOUBLE what they achieved last year!! All produce has been redistributed to their own community shop, food banks, schools and other projects. Congrats Roz, Tony and the Suffolk gleaning team 👏🏼 👏🏼 #suffolk #foodwaste #suffolkfarming #communityfood #socialaction

Thank you for having us @poyningspumpkinpatch 🎃 These squash will mostly be used by @sussexsurplus for free community meals at the Bristol Estate in Brighton and in long-life jars of soup. These meals are all made from surplus ingredients, feeding between 80-100 people each week in an inclusive, warm environment. You’re welcome to visit on Thursdays between 12-2 💚 We also dropped a couple of crates to @btnkitchen who will process them in their community chop up sessions. #glean #gleaning #community #communityfood #lovefoodhatewaste #brighton #volunteer

Did you know that most apples in our supermarkets are being shipped in from places like South Africa and New Zealand? And yet within the UK many orchards are left unpicked or only partially picked because there aren’t economical routes to market 🤯 Our food system needs a serious overhaul. For food security, climate impact and local livelihoods, we need better support for UK farmers and local supply chains 🧑‍🌾 We’ve been at the beautiful Hartley Farm twice this season, gleaning nearly 3 tonnes worth of braeburn apples 🍎 These delicious surplus fruits have been redistributed by @faresharekent @thefelixproject and @sussexsurplus , plus some great local food banks and community kitchens that volunteers have delivered to 🙌 A huge thank you to @hartleyfarmkent for having us, to our volunteers for all your time and energy, and to our distribution partners for getting this food where it’s desperately needed! If you want to join us in the fields, visit the link in our bio and sign up as a Gleaning Volunteer 💚 . . . #gleaning #sussexgleaningnetwork #foodwaste #apple #orchard #farm #volunteer

In Bucks, @kheperaorg and Prestwood Community Fridge regularly come together to glean to supply fresh produce for their local communities 👨‍🌾🥗 it’s been a really great way for both groups to support each others work. To find your nearest fridge, check out @hellohubbub community fridge network map 🗺️ #foodwaste #community #foodsystems #harvest #surplus #communityfridge #appleseason

For many growers with orchards this year, it hasn’t been economical to pay for labour to pick apples because they aren’t able to sell for a fair price. 🍎 💰 We’ve got a broken food system, where most apples in the shops are being shipped in from South Africa and New Zealand and orchards across the UK are being left unpicked because there aren’t economical routes to market 🤯 Gleaners offer volunteer hours to harvest fruit and have been very busy this year (but have hardly scratched the surface)! Thanks to the @thefelixproject , apples picked from this orchard will be juiced in their fab processing centre and distributed across community food projects in London #community #foodwaste #foodsystems #sustainablefood #harvest #mastyear #fairfood