Sharing the Harvest

Harvest time

by Claire Law

Suitable for Key Stage 2

Aims

To explore the meaning of the word ‘gleaning’ and its importance today.

Preparation and materials

• You will need the PowerPoint slides accompanying this assembly (Sharing the Harvest) and the means to display them.

Assembly

1. Show Slide 1. 
   Welcome the children to the assembly.

2. Ask the children what they understand by the word ‘harvest’.
   Show Slide 2.
   Explain that harvest has several meanings. It often refers to the time when the crops are gathered in or the process of gathering and bringing in food crops, such as wheat.  
   Show Slide 3.
   It can also refer to what has been gathered such as the fruits, vegetables and other crops for eating that are the results of the harvesting.  These can be called ‘the harvest’. 
3. Show Slide 4 and 5. 
   Many churches, organisations, community groups and schools have special celebrations at this time of year called Harvest Festivals. These are traditionally celebrated on the Sunday nearest the harvest moon. This is the full moon that occurs closest to the autumn equinox, which is usually between 21^st -23^rd September. However, harvest festivals are celebrated at many different times during September and October. Harvest festivals are an opportunity to be grateful for the food we have, and a celebration of the work that’s gone into the production of the food. 
4. Many people in our world have enough or even an excess of food to enjoy. However, it’s also the case that for some people, there is a shortage of food.  The United Nations estimates that at least 735 million people were affected by hunger in 2022. 
5. Most religions teach the importance of caring for the needs of the poor, including ensuring everyone has enough to eat.
   Show Slide 6. 
   In the Old Testament, in the Bible, it states: ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.’ Leviticus 23:22. 
   This quote, important to both Jews and Christians, tells us that there should always be something available for the poor, when the harvest is collected. There should be some left for the poor to come to gather or glean.
6. This idea was illustrated by the French artist Jean-François Millet.
   Show Slide 7.
   The painting we see here is called ‘The Gleaners’ and shows a group of women gathering the crops left at the edge of the field. The women are in the process of gleaning what is left, so that they and their families won’t go hungry.   
7. Whilst the verse from the Bible was written thousands of years ago, the process of gleaning is still in operation today.  Gleaning is still used to address food poverty, but also allows for crops to be used efficiently, avoiding the negative environmental impacts of food waste.
8. Let’s take a brief look at a Gleaning Project taking place in Dundee in Scotland, to help tackle climate change and provide healthy food for local people. 
9. Show Slide 8. 
   Here we see Lorraine, a volunteer with the Dundee community fridge.  She’s holding some of the blueberries that volunteers are gleaning from a field in Perthshire.
10. Show Slide 9. 
    The farmer who owns the field gives them permission to pick any fruit that is not economically profitable to harvest. These berries then make their way to local food banks.  This saves the food from waste as well as getting more nutritious food into communities that need it most.
11. Show Slide 10.
    It’s not just blueberries that are part of the Gleaning Project.  Potatoes, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts and Pumpkins are all crops that have been gleaned as part of this project. 

Time for reflection

As we think about harvesting and the idea of gleaning, let’s take time to think about people in our world who struggle to find food.

Let us think about those in our own society who find it hard to get enough to eat, or people who can’t manage to provide a healthy diet for themselves or their families. Let’s think about people in our own community who face this need. 

Pause to allow time for reflection.

Let us also call to mind people, globally, who face hunger. People who are forced to glean, or to find creative ways to try to have enough to eat. People who face huge challenges to find food because of famine, warfare or injustice.   

Pause to allow time for reflection.

Finally, let us take a moment of gratitude for the food we have, for the people who help to produce and provide food for us, and also for people who work hard to feed those in need through charity projects. 

Pause to allow time for reflection.

Prayer

Dear God,
Thank you for the food you provide.
At this time of harvest, please help us to be grateful.
Please help us to remember those who don’t have enough to eat.
Please help us to always look for ways in which we might help.
Amen.