Oh my gourd! Record breaking 25 tonnes of pumpkins rescued on Kent farm

Over 70 eager volunteers, including many young people, gathered on Saturday at Pumpkin Moon farm in Maidstone, to rescue over 25 tonnes – equivalent to 300,000 portions – of pumpkin from going to waste. With pumpkin and squash season in full swing, the ‘pick your own’ farm found itself with more fresh produce than it could sell, running the risk of the delicious veg joining the one third of food around the world that is wasted every year.

Luckily, Feedback’s Gleaning Network, and our team of eager volunteers, was there to step in. The Gleaning Network revives the ancient practice of gleaning – gathering up any leftovers after the harvest to ensure nothing that is good to eat goes to waste.

25 tonnes is a serious amount of pumpkin, which right now is making its way, via food redistribution charity FareShare, to frontline charities in over 20 cities around the country, feeding people in need. Gleaning brings you face to face with the terrifying reality of food waste on farms, but also provides a hands-on opportunity to do something about it, while meeting new people and having a great day out in the countryside. There are loads of gleans coming up over the next month or so – sign up to hear more.

It’s the season of plenty and farmers up and down the country are enjoying bumper crops of produce such as pumpkins, squash and apples. But sadly, not all of these delicious fruits and vegetables will find a good home. Every week, hundreds of tonnes of good food goes to waste on farms, for a variety of reasons, often including strict rules on how food must look in order to be stocked in supermarkets, last-minute order cancellations, and overproduction for fear of losing customers in lean years. Feedback campaigns to end the scandal of food waste and works to spread the word on the many delicious solutions – pumpkin pie anyone?

Our Gleaning Network is supported by Our Bright Future and SavingFood.eu.