Harvest Against Hunger has partnered with Good Cheer Food Bank on Whidbey Island to expand and support Good Cheer Gleaners, their gleaning and produce recovery program.
HAH VISTA Kelly Pinkley started her AmeriCorps term at the end of April, and she recently tabled at the Bayview Farmer’s Market, themed the “Kid’s Market.” As a volunteer recruitment strategy, Kelly used her graphic design abilities to create patches earned by volunteers as they pass milestones participating in the gleaning program. This patch system will be a fun way for families, children, and Millennials to get involved in volunteering at gleans. There are three patches community members can earn, one for their “first glean”, the “Tree ID”, and if they participate in 3 or more gleans a “Glean Whidbey” patch. The Tree ID patch is also a good way to market the program on social media because participants are encouraged to take pictures and share them on whatever forum they want, to post to Good Cheer.