Stock photo courtesy of the North Okanagan Valley Gleaners

By Liam Verster

13.5-million servings

Gleaners nearing record for food servings produced

Dec 19, 2023 | 4:15 PM

With a few days left of the year, the North Okanagan Valley Gleaners are nearing a milestone in their goal to feed people in need.

The organization said nearly 13.5-million servings of food had already been produced as of Tuesday, Dec 19, which would be a record for the group that helps feed people and provides medical equipment to communities around the world.

“We have just inventoried our 900^th barrel of food, up from 837 barrels last year,” plant manager Russ Phillips said in a release to Vernon Matters Tuesday.

“By year end, we will have received 1.6 million pounds of donated vegetables and we, on behalf of the people we serve, just want to give our utmost thanks and appreciation to those farmers, orchardists and all those that support Gleaners.”

The Gleaners Used Furniture and Appliance Store in Vernon also had a record year, providing 162 individuals and families in need with furniture, free of charge.

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“All of us at Gleaners are so proud and thankful to those that both donate and buy furniture from our store,” store manager Christiane Molendyk said.

“It all starts with the kindness and generosity of our community. The store funds our food production facility and all of our customers need to know that each and every one of you is involved in feeding the hungry overseas as well as supporting local people in need. Every $100 we make at the store equates to the production of 5,000 meals so all of you are really making a difference.”

The group extended a thank you to the volunteers who helped with this year’s operations, as one person’s four-hour shift can produce 1,500 servings of food, and a week’s worth of work can feed 100 people for an entire year.

Anyone wishing to volunteer with the Gleaners in 2024 can visit their website to learn more.