Modern Day Gleaning

Harvest time

by Claire Law

Suitable for Whole School (Sec)

Aims

To explore the meaning of the word ‘harvest’ and how modern-day gleaning could address both food poverty and environmental issues.

Preparation and materials

• You will need the PowerPoint slides accompanying this assembly (Modern Day Gleaning) and the means to display them.

Assembly

1. Show Slide 1. 
   Welcome students to the assembly.
2. Show Slide 2
   September is the month we associate with harvest.  Harvest has several meanings. It can refer to the time when food crops are ready to be gathered in.  It can also be a verb – the process of gathering and bringing in food crops, such as wheat.  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. In the UK the harvest festival, also known as the harvest home, is 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. 
4. Show Slide 3. 
   As we near the end of September, lots of organisations, community groups and churches will be hosting harvest celebrations.  It’s a chance to be grateful for the food we have, and a celebration of the work that’s gone into the production of the food. 
5. 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. 
6. Show Slide 4. 
   And here we see that food insecurity impacts many areas of our world.   
7. Most religions teach the importance of caring for the needs of the poor, including ensuring everyone has enough to eat.
   Show Slide 5. 
   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.
8. This idea was illustrated by the French artist Jean-François Millet.
   Show Slide 6.
   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.   
9. 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.
10. 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. 
11. Show Slide 7. 
    Here we see Lorraine, a volunteer with the Dundee community fridge.  She’s holding some of the blueberries she, along with other volunteers, are gleaning from a field in Perthshire.
12. Show Slide 8. 
    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.
13. Show Slide 9.
    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.  We think about people in our own community who face this need. 
Let’s pause and try to adopt an attitude of compassion for those in need.

Pause to allow time for reflection.

Let us also call to mind people, globally, who face food insecurity and 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.   
Let’s pause and try to adopt an attitude of compassion for those in need.

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, we recall with thanks the rainbow of foods we can enjoy and the variety of tastes and textures in the food we have.
We pray for those who work hard to produce and harvest the food we have, including people who work for charities and organisations that feed people in need.
Help us to be mindful and caring towards those in need, and to find ways to be generous and to share what we have with others, as we aim to help build a world in which no one need go hungry. 
Amen