2024 Gleaning Season Arrives
Welcome back gleaners! We hope you have all had a somewhat dormant winter to recoop and recharge for the 2024 growing season. Asparugus is being cut on the daily and farmers are diligently working to grow food for our communities. It’s time to start thinking about serving together and also to remember why we do it.
In 2006 Alissa Watkins started the Fields of Grace gleaning ministry at West Side Church in Richland, WA. She identified a need to help farmers and residents prevent agricultural waste in the Columbia Basin and ensure that God’s gifts could reach those in need.
What began as a simple observation has grown into a dedicated team of volunteers who have logged over 22,000 service hours and harvested nearly three million pounds of local produce.
Our community food banks are reporting drastic increases in their clientele on a regular basis. The government is granting emergency funds to food banks for purchasing local fresh food. We have the opportunity to help an ever growing need by rescuing fresh food that may otherwise go to waste right here in our community.
We want to thank each and every person who has leant a helping hand to support this ministry in lasting nearly 2 decades. The service that this ministry provides helps us to be stewards of the environment and of our neighbors.
Summary of Spring Events
It has been quite an eventful spring here with Fields of Grace! Our ministry was invited to give presentations at the WSU Master Gardeners Program, the Columbia Center Rotary Club, Three Rivers Community Foundation, United Way Americorps Program, and the CBC Wellness Fair. It is such an honor to refresh our community on the amazing work our supporters have accomplished since 2006. This work will continue to grow in its importance to our communities.
In addition to sharing the Fields of Grace mission with our community, we have been attending the Benton County Farm Bureau meetings every month. This has become a great way to learn what farmers are dealing with politcally, what they experience throughout the year, and if there are local farmers in need of our services.
As a result of our dedication, the board of directors invited Fields of Grace to speak at the Farmer For a Day event in August where Washington State legislators visit our agricultural region. These legistlators tour local farms and get a glance into the life of farming in the Columbia Basin.
This is such an amazing opportunity for our organization to speak with state legislators about how our ministry has been helping to reduce food waste and share fresh food with those in need since 2006. Check out this current bill which will directly impact our gleaning organization in the future WAHB2301.
Farmer’s Market season is here and we kick it off with the Richland and Pasco Farmer’s Market meetings. We spoke with new and returning vendors about our services and who we partner with for each market. While attending the meetings, we learned about SNAP benefits and how some local farmers are accepting them. There were a few farm vendors who are approved to accept SNAP at the markets, while others will be able to accept benefits at u-pick farms. If you or someone you know could benefit from basic food resrouces such as SNAP/EBT please visit Help Me Grow.
Volunteer Needs
Our 2024 Volunteers are Sponsored by Highstreet
Volunteer this Season and Receive a FREE Shirt!
We are in need of Farmer’s Market gleaners! Please reach out to us to join our farmer’s market volunteer intro days!
June-October
Richland Farmer’s Market Friday’s 12:30pm-1:30pm
Collect fresh food from vendors with Tri-Cities Food Bank, help to load their vehicle. (bins & carts provided) All-ages welcome!
Pasco Farmer’s Market Saturday’s 12:30pm-1:30pm
Collect fresh food from vendors then transport items to St. Vincent DePaul Food Bank 2 blocks away. (bins & carts provided) (suv/truck needed) All-ages welcome!
Father’s Day Rib Dinner Fundraiser
The Father’s Day Rib Dinner Fundraiser is just around the corner. Consider supporting our ministry by purchasing a dinner for yourself and family, donating a dinner to Restoration Community Impact Market for those in need, or making a financial donation.
Support Us Today HERE
.jpg "Copy of 2024 Father's Day Rib Dinner Fundraiser (1)")
2023 Produce Donors
Many produce donors prepare to open for the u-pick season. Support local by purchasing directly from Columbia Basin farmers.
Schreiber’s Farms, Hatch Patch, Applegate Blueberry U Pick, Job’s Nursery, Richland Farmer’s Market, Pasco Farmer’s Market, Gem Orchards, Ridgeline Farms Inc, WSU Tri Cities AG Research Plots, Bautista Farms, Alvarez Organic Farms, Albertin’s Orchards, Hermiston Watermelon Co Walchli Farms, Fresh Picks, Buggirls Garden, and many residents of Pasco, Richland, Kennewick, and Benton City.
Prayer
Lord we pray for our farmers as they till the ground, plant their seeds, and leave their families for extended times. Watchover them and for their safety and the safety of their employees.We ask for a mild spring and for your gifts to be abundantly shared. Lord help those who seek basic needs and lead them to find the resources available in our community. God we thank you for those who give a helping hand to our brothers and sisters. Thank you for this ministry and for choosing us be the working hands to help our neighbors in need. Watchover our supporters and volunteers as they go about their daily lives. We thank you for all you have blessed us with on this earth. In the Lords Name, Amen.
How to Help
Help us reach our 2024 fundraising goal by DONATING ONLINE or by mail PO Box 1766 Richland, WA 93352.
$25.00= 500 fresh servings of produce $50.00= 1,000 fresh servings of produce, $75.00=1,500 fresh servings of produce, and $100.00= 2,000 fresh servings of produce
Leviticus 19:9-10. 9 When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 You shall not strip your vineyard bare or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your God.
Questions: admin@fields-of-grace.com (509) 537-6442
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