Throughout the fall and spring harvest seasons, the SoSA Florida office partners with Cros Ministries, a local hunger relief organization that serves the hungry in Palm Beach and Martin counties through community collaborations. Both gleaning programs coordinate with one another recruit volunteers to recovery produce crops such as radishes, sweet corn, cabbage, lettuce, bell peppers, tomatoes, and whatever else that might be available.
Gleaning continues in South Florida well into early, where HAH VISTA Mykevia has been harvesting endives and several varieties of lettuce. Farms that are scattered around Lake Okeechobee in cities like Belle Glade, Clewingston, and Pahokee area have introduced us to amazing and hardworking volunteers. It is always gratifying to see so many people wanting to help eliminate hunger. On Saturday January 4, along with Cros Ministries staff members, Mykevia co-led a butter lettuce gleaning with the help of a group of 13 volunteers.
Thanks to Cros and our gleaning network, these volunteers were able to serve their local community, recovering 5,412 pounds of lettuce that was distributed to Feeding South Florida food bank. We all came together united in service to meet the most basic need of human beings, the need to eat.