What we do...

Gleaners Pantry - Perishable Food Recovery

We seek to reduce the amount of edible food that is wasted in Whatcom County. With the cooperation of grocery stores, restaurants and farms, we collect food that they no longer wish to sell for various reasons; a recent expiration date, surplus stock, or damaged produce. Typical donations include slightly dented canned goods, lightly bruised fruit, and day old bread.

What is unique to our group is that we are able to handle food that cannot be stored for a few days. We distribute food to our members immediately after the pick-up as opposed to gathering all the food, repackaging it, and distributing it a few days later.

Another unique feature is that we target smaller businesses & farms who may not participate in larger food recovery programs because they dispose of small quantities of food. We will collect from establishments that may only have one box of food per week. Since we pick up from several stores even a donation of one box per store adds up to a significant contribution to the food supply of a member.

We share with our members: preservation techniques, budgeting ideas, gardening, recycling, dehydrating, and how to utilize these techniques as an alternative to other more conventional means. We have a growing lending bank full of items for our members to use: Water bath canners, dehydrators, meat & vegetable grinders, tortilla presses, and canning books/guides.

Gleaners Pantry is always in search of new farms, nurseries and gardens that are in need of gleaning. Please contact call, email or message us on FB and we will come and meet with you.