I participated in the Bayer gleaning day this year and for me it is not only amazing to see Bayer and fellow colleagues dedicate their time to helping out in the community, but it shows just how many other people and organizations have dedicated their time and resources to helping people.
I wanted to go through the various people I met throughout the day and how their big hearts are truly making a difference.
THE FARM - WILLIAMS' PRODUCE
The farm we went to was in Autryville, NC and owned by the Williams' family. I arrived a little early to the farm and I knew I was in a good place when Dwight Williams came up to me and introduced himself. Pretty quick after that he told me to jump in his pickup and we were riding down he road to the field mark off where we would be gleaning. A reporter had come and I mentioned that I would walk back to grab her. Walk? Nope. Dwight told me to jump in his truck and drive it to get her. You know you have met a good person when they are offering you their farm truck after only meeting you for 20 minutes.
Beyond the fact this family lets people come and harvest produce for the hungry, they also have a beautiful operation. A stand was set up in the front with lots of watermelon, corn, tomatoes, and all the other good summer vegetables. They have a Facebook page with more info and I know they would enjoy a visit if anyone is ever in that area.
https://www.facebook.com/williamsproduce/
SOCIETY OF ST. ANDREWS
I did not know too much about the Society of St Andrews. Now i know a lot more after seeing what they do and meeting some of their staff. Gleaning is what this organization does and is all about. They organize lots of gleaning events across many US states, including North Carolina.
This organization makes a huge impact in our communities. They helped us coordinate our gleaning event and do this same coordination for lots of organizations. As we were gleaning they were helping to count and load all the corn we were collecting. Just to give a snapshot of the impact they have take a look at these numbers:
http://endhunger.org/
BAYER CROPSCIENCE
I work for Bayer CropScience and am always proud to work for a place that puts its words into action. We talk a lot about sustainability and giving back to our community. Our mission is "Science for a Better Life," so when we do go out into the community to make a difference it is important to me.
We had over 60 volunteers come out for gleaning and many of them even brought their children. We were mainly working in a cornfield and harvesting leftover corn. I can tell you we harvested a lot of corn! We put as much as we could in a bucket, brought it to a truck, and then kept harvesting.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOOD PANTRY
This food pantry has made a lot of press in the past because it delivers a lot of food to a lot of people that need it. Mackenzie was only ten years old when she established this food pantry and it continues to grow and provide food. 4,250 pounds of corn that we gleaned by Bayer went to Make A Difference Food Pantry.
http://www.madpantry.org/
https://www.facebook.com/MakeADifferenceFoodPantry/
DORCAS MINISTRIES
About halfway through the morning, it looked as though we had gleaned so much corn that the Society of St. Andrew's would not have enough room in their truck to fit it all. Dwight from the farm knew I had driven my truck and Michael from the Society of St. Andrews looked for a second food pantry that I might could drop a load off. They contacted Dorcas Ministries in Cary who was excited for the delivery of corn. Dorcas is actually more than a food pantry. They have many services they provide for the community with a food pantry just being one of their outreach programs.
http://dorcas-cary.org/
The Bayer CropScience volunteers filled another 2,250 pounds of corn in my truck and off to Dorcas I went. I rang the doorbell to their food pantry and I was greeted by some wonderful people who helped me unload my truck into their pantry.
All in all the day makes you realize just how many people really are working to feed people in need. I volunteered for half a day, but some of the people I met are doing this as full time jobs. There are days that we all wake up and things seem bad. The news seems bad, the weather seems bad, maybe even conversations go bad. But then there are days like this one, that you see only the good and you realize that while there are many who are doing bad things by our Earth, there are plenty who are doing everything they can to do good and right.
And the reporters that did show up had their stories as well.
http://www.mydailyrecord.com/eedition/a-main/2017/06/29/a-trip-to-the-farm-to-glean/
http://www.fayobserver.com/news/20170628/volunteers-glean-field-to-benefit-mobile-food-pantry
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