Gleaning Cornwall - 2026

Aim

We wish to continue harvesting surplus and outgraded / wonky fruit and veg across Cornwall to then distribute it to people in need for free.

If food waste were a country, it would be the third most polluting after China and the US! Most food waste comes from our homes but Gleaning Cornwall helps tackle some on farm food waste, while also supporting food banks, community larders and community kitchens feeding those in need. 

By reducing on farm food waste we reduce carbon wastage and emissions. Food is carbon based and takes a lot of energy to produce. We hope that in 2026 we will 'save' around 120 tonnes of produce, equating to around 270 tonnes of CO2e, taking our emissions into consideration.

This waste is no fault of our farmers and producers as they have to over-produce their crops to ensure they have enough of a suitable standard, at the right time for their market. Also, the weather is increasingly unpredictable, making it harder for growers to correctly predict growing times. Additionally, when soil is ploughed and bare, as it is before being planted, carbon is sent up into the atmosphere and degrading / rotting produce emits methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. 

Thankfully this surplus and outgraded produce is increasingly, kindly being offered to the gleaners, so it can end up on the tables of people in Cornwall and west Devon, who are struggling for whatever reason. As we know, we suffer low wages, often seasonal pay and have higher than average costs, exasperated by the cost of living crisis.

Costs have also affected our local food charities, who often struggle for enough food to give out or cook with, as supermarkets have reduced their waste and often it is the poor who are the most generous but who now can't afford to donate, like they used to. Gleaning Cornwall ensures all our food is offered for free, saving the food charities thousands of pounds a year.

Though a great deal of the hard work is done by wonderfully kind volunteers, we need money to pay staff, to insure and maintain our four pickup trucks and trailers and for petrol costs, etc.

Thank you farmers, for working so hard to feed us and your generosity. Thank you volunteers who go out in all weathers to help our community. Thank you for all the food charities and their volunteers, helping to take care of those in need.

Thank you for reading this and for supporting this initiative if you are able.  (-:

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made