October 26, 2004
By Tamie Ross

GOLDEN, Texas (UMNS) - Sandra Horton surveyed the soft, brown earth, looking for plump sweet potatoes to add to the orange mesh bag she was filling for the Society of St. Andrew.

Trouble was, it looked as if all that remained in the muddy 27-acre field were scrawny, black-spotted, root-resembling remnants of what used to be sweet potatoes.

Horton had envisioned herself uncovering a bonanza that looked like the fat, rich, copper-colored spuds she usually sifted through in a bin at the grocery store.

"Mom, you're not looking at this field with hungry eyes," her daughter, Billie Wilbur, scolded her.

That phrase motivated the group from Mount Zion United Methodist Church, which hails from Panola, Texas, for the rest of the day.

One and one-half filled bags and two hours later, Horton proclaimed herself cured of her earlier blind spot. "I could probably buy and donate a lot of potatoes for the price of the tendonitis shot I'll need tomorrow," she joked. "But honestly, this feels good. We're helping a lot of people today."

More than 700 pairs of gloved hands were expected at this remote patch of east Texas land and another 70-acre field not far away for the annual "Yam Jam" on Oct. 23. The Texas chapter of the Society of St. Andrew sponsors the Gleaning Network each year with farmers, volunteers and food banks. Yam Jam is one of the Gleaning Network's biggest events.

Several times each year, farmers grant rights for the volunteers to scour the fields after mechanical harvesting is completed. The produce is then distributed through local food banks to those who need it most.

Each gleaning session yields thousands of pounds of perfectly good produce that otherwise would have been left in the fields to rot or be plowed under. In Texas, five months each year - mid-June through mid-November - is spent giving growing fields a once-over after the commercial picking ends.

The fresh fruits or vegetables taken from the fields are put directly into the hands - and onto the tables - of the hungry, usually within 48 hours. Besides sweet potatoes, the society regularly works with farmers to ensure apples, cucumbers, Irish potatoes, blueberries, squash, okra, watermelon, pumpkin, corn and other produce reaches people who need nourishment.

Gleaning is a biblical concept discussed in several Old Testament passages, the most familiar is one cited by several volunteers as they weave through the rows of green leaves that indicate sweet potatoes are nearby.

"Who hasn't heard of the story of Ruth and thought, 'Wow!'" said Wilbur, reciting Ruth 2, where Ruth follow workers in the field, collecting overlooked grain to feed herself and her mother-in-law, Naomi, whose husbands both had died.

"I've never known hunger, and my children have never gone to bed crying because they didn't have anything to eat. Yet working out here really helps you get it: These little sweet potatoes can mean the world to people who don't have enough food to feed their families," she said.

Jubilant workers like Wilbur's 11-year-old son, Nick, unearthed a few giant-sized yams somehow missed by mechanical diggers. But the majority of the day's bounty came from smaller, yet still healthy, potatoes buried in the field.

The previous night's downpour left puddles of water inside the huge tire tracks that snaked through the fields. But the rain was a treat, said Fred Fink, office director and field coordinator, and he never feared the threat of a washout.

"That rain really cooled things off really well and made the soil easier to dig," Fink said. "This is backbreaking work anyway, but a hot, sunny day is devastating to us."

In its 25th year as an ecumenical organization founded to feed the hungry, the Society of St. Andrew now collects 25 million pounds of left-behind produce each year. Those who glean these fields represent churches, civic groups and corporate organizations.

The Texas chapter, whose offices are at the First United Methodist Church of Irving, nets about 2 million pounds of food each year, Fink said, with Yam Jam accounting for 100,000 pounds of that total. Roughly 26 United Methodist groups participated in this year's Yam Jam.

Fink wishes he and others could do more. An estimated 96 billion pounds of American-grown food is wasted every year, forgotten in fields or tossed into dumpsters because it spoiled.

In his 30-year career in computer sales for IBM, Fink never dreamed so many people lacked access to fresh food. A job change and the resulting two years with the Society of St. Andrew have taught him what he should do "with the rest of my life," he said.

"I never knew hunger existed like it does," Fink said. "And I never knew so much food went to waste. By considering both of these facts together, we can work to put a stop to both.

"We grow enough food globally to make sure that no one ever goes hungry. It's just a matter of getting what's grown to those who need it in a timely manner."

United Methodist News Service
Tamie Ross is a freelance journalist based in Dallas.