by We couldn’t just choose one member to spotlight for National Nutrition Month!
Laura Tagliani (in-glean@endhunger.org) is the Indiana Program Coordinator for the Society of St. Andrew. She works alongside Regional Director, Dawn Barnes, and Northwest Indiana Area Coordinator, Oliver Bhamani.
Describe your organization and role.
Society of St. Andrew is a national nonprofit gleaning organization. The organization was founded in the 1979 by two Methodist ministers in Virginia, where the headquarters still sits today. Society of St. Andrew has active gleaning programs in 10 regions of the country. The program in Indiana was started in January 2018 and covers the entire state. Myself and Dawn work as the organization’s two full time staff and Oliver serves in his role part time.
Society of St. Andrew focuses, currently, on three areas:
- Field gleaning- We work with farmers who have harvested their fields, but know there is still good food that can be gleaned and donated. When there is food available, we mobilize volunteers to glean the food that has been left in the fields and then deliver it to local food pantries.
- Potato drop- Churches or community organizations sponsor the semi-truck freight cost of delivering nearly 40,000 pounds of potatoes. Once the funds are raised, a large semi-truck full of potatoes will be delivered to the organization. We are always looking to do more if we have sponsors!
- Vegetable seed distributions- We gather and distribute vegetable seeds for free to community gardens, individuals, and churches. The produce grown from the seeds is not to be sold, but instead shared with the community.
What are two projects and/or partnerships that have been impactful in the work you do?
As an organization with a small number of staff, partnerships are everything! There are two partnerships that are essential:
Partnerships with farmers: We are so grateful for our farmers who are willing to donate their food. We try to build relationships with these farmers overtime so they know they can call us when they have excess food that they would like to have gleaned and distributed to local food pantries. All of our volunteers sign a waiver so the farmers do not have to worry about liability. At the end of the year we also provide them with a tax letter for all of their donations. Some farmers also will harvest produce themselves and then call us to distribute. We even have some farmers that plant a little extra just for us, which is so kind!
Partnerships with volunteers– We could not do this without our volunteers. We all come together to provide nutritious food for others. Our volunteers are part of a large database and when a field needs gleaned, we send out the day, time, and location of the gleaning site. If they can make it, then they sign up and will come and help for 2-3 hours. They are the best!
What is the most interesting part of your role?
I have been in this role for 6 months, so I am still learning every day. But, I am surrounded constantly by wonderful people. Farmers are donating produce, volunteers are donating their time, and pantries are working hard to distribute. I am so grateful to be around these people all the time!
The most interesting and challenging part of my job would be balancing the timeliness of gleaning the food and getting it to organizations while it is still fresh. Our volunteer base needs to be very flexible and ready to glean, sometimes on short notice, all over the state. Food pantries also have their own unique needs and challenges that we need to account for with distribution.
What is the “why” behind what you do?
I studied agriculture for my bachelor’s degree in Northern California. My first job was a Vista volunteer and I organized a gleaning program in the 1980s. I fell in love with it and was all in at that point! I was working in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. I have always been passionate about agriculture and food production, and my career was focused on agricultural research. One of my big picture professional goals is to feed the world and increase and distribute our food supply. Coming back to gleaning is the perfect way to round out my career. It has all come full circle!
Is there anything else SNAC members should know?
We always need help building awareness! I’ve been interested in food and have been gleaning and volunteering at food pantries for my entire career and didn’t know about Society of St. Andrew until last year. We are trying to get the word out to both farmers and volunteers! Our hope is to be there for those looking to give back to their communities through growing food or volunteering their time. We are here if a grower is interested, they just need to give us a call! Volunteer events are very fun too. You help for 2-3 hours and get to meet some pretty great people! It is open to all those interested and all ages!