91,790 pounds of crops took our coordinators and volunteers all over the basin. From Wallula to Benton City, from North Pasco to the many residential streets of the Tri Cities. We harvested kale from Schreiber Farms, which was satisfying to pick as we yanked down the Kale leaves. Luckily our trucks had covers over the bed because we didnt think about how hauling kale could become a whirlwind. 

Apricots were a huge bumper crop this year and at one point there were 6 trees at once being checked for ripeness or quality. Talk about ripeness, this is a hard one to pin point. There were a group of peach trees on the canal at a West Richland residence that had our gleaners wondering if they would ever ripen. We are at the hands of the fruit and this can mean coordinators visit a tree many times over!  

Leaders of Fields of Grace utilized the Washington State Gleaning Network to find gleaners to glean crops in other areas. Lisa Williams, our past executive director, took on a glean in Naches that was shared by the network. She gleaned apples with 12 volunteers and donated the crops to Selah Food Bank. A tomato field being left unharvested was shared to us by another organization, since the fields was in Touchet we contacted Blue Mountain Action Council in Walla Walla. Their coordinator and volunteers gleaned hundred of pounds for BMAC Food Bank in Walla Walla. The Washington State Gleaning Network is a huge light to be shown on the direction of gleaning orgnizations and how important they are becoming to the food system. 

Our relationship with WSU was seamless after multiple years of changeover for their management and ours. It came full circle when we found out that Gary Middleton was managing their research plots. With his dedication to this mission, we were well informed on the crop availability which enabled us to glean mass amounts from their fields. Volunteers harvested nearly 40,000lbs of onions from WSU this year alone. We gleaned sweet corn, potatoes, and roma tomatos as well! Volunteers all agreed that these crops were the best they have ever eaten!!

Thanks to a Fields of Grace volunteer who is on the Franklin County Disease and Pest Board, our information was passed along to farms all over the basin. Taggares Fruit Company LLC reached out to us about having gleaners on their 450acre concord grape plot as well as their many apple plots. We had an amazing cosmic crisp apple glean with over 40 volunteers. They were welcoming and even provided a bathroom for us. Volunteers went back to harvest concord grapes! It is the beginning of a great relationship for Fields of Grace. 

We continue to glean weekly at the Richland and Pasco Farmers Markets. It is so important to us that we have dedicated volunteers to take on these recurring positions! This year the Latter Day Saint Missionaries began taking a lead on the Pasco Farmers Market after our long time dedicated gleaner Ron Utter handed in his hat<3 Hundreds of pounds of fresh local food are donated from market vendors each week. 

Volunteers have been joining hands and calling friends to harvest with us this season. We have seen many new volunteers and younger families out in the harvest! We’ve handed out 100 volunteer shirts this season thanks to High Street Insurance and their volunteer sponsorship. In the future, we hope to build upon this sponsorship base and create a large group of local business who support our gleaning seasons. If you know of a business that would be interested in becoming a sponsor for our 2025 season, please let us know and we can share the sponsor packet. Logos will be shown on our volunteer shirts, Fields of Grace vehicle magnents, and signs used to designate parking and harvest areas onsite. 

Our annual Father’s Day Rib Dinner Fundraiser brought in $11,290! A portion of these donations went to provide ribs and ingredients for sides to Restoration Community Impact Market for those in need. We donated 32 racks of ribs with fixings for sides and were distributed the next day at the Juneteenth Restoration Market Mobile Food Distribtion where hundreds of clients were served in a few hours. 

 Funding is a huge part of Fields of Grace that we don’t delve into often. Historically this non-profit has been uphelp by individual and church donations. That means our volunteers, community members, and church organizations have single handedly helped to keep the wheels turning since 2006. Thank you to all of those who have donated this year and supported this mission that is growing in importance every year. 

As we roll into the season of giving after the long harvest please pray for our non profit, the volunteers, and the financial stability we need to continue our amazing service. Even though the crops have been picked we now busy ourselves with fundraising and sharing the joy of gleaning.  

If you are interested in donating here are some ways to show your support! 

Donate Directly Online through Square: HERE
Donate Directly by Check: Fields of Grace Po Box 1766 Richland, WA 99352