Gleaners, Inc., also known as The Volunteers of Gleaners, is a Jackson, Mississippi-based nonprofit organization founded by Gloria Martinson in 1986. Today, the Volunteers of Gleaners salvage food that otherwise would go to waste and redistribute it to nonprofits in the central Mississippi area.
But legend has it, it all started with boxes of donuts.
Debi Pearsall, the daughter of the founder, Gloria Martinson, has been deeply rooted in the organization since the 80s. Currently, Pearsall is an active board member for the Volunteers of Gleaners and enjoys sharing how it got started from her mother’s kitchen.
“Mother started in a very simple capacity,” shared Pearsall. “She saw boxes of donuts just being thrown out. And my mother had the biggest heart; she couldn’t stand the fact that these donuts were being thrown away. She knew that there were agencies that had children and teenagers who might want the donuts.”
Donuts sparked the idea for Martinson to start the organization, and while the variety and amount of food gleaned have changed, the mission remains the same.
Today, the Volunteers of Gleaners focus on collecting food from wholesale food distributors, retail establishments such as supermarkets, restaurants, and bakeries, as well as hospitals and churches. The food is never stored and gets distributed to charities that care for older people in need, low-income daycare centers, halfway houses, and shelters, at no cost to them. On average, Volunteers of Gleaners rescues and reallocates a million-plus pounds of food annually.
In the USA, approximately 30-40% of the food supply is wasted annually, with estimates suggesting that 133 billion pounds of food, worth $161 billion, are lost at the retail and consumer levels alone. Grocery stores in the U.S. generated an estimated 5 million tons of surplus food in 2022. This waste is often a result of overstocking, concerns over date labels, and damage during transport or handling.
“Kroger has done an outstanding job of trying to purposely package products for the hungry, for the needy in food desert areas,” shared Michael Williams, current CEO of Volunteers of Gleaners in Jackson. “And Walmart has been a big contributor as well.”
Thanks to a Walmart grant through the Mississippi Food Network, Volunteers of Gleaners will be able to purchase another refrigerated truck.
“The Walmart grant is a Godsend,” explained Williams. “We don’t raise money; we survive off our volunteer labor and donations.”
Volunteers can schedule a time that works best for them and come in as many days as they prefer.
“We operate in the morning,” shared Williams. “It’s work, you’re lifting boxes and making packages. If anyone wants to volunteer, call us up and we’ll give you the schedule.”
Gloria Martinson was able to see Volunteers of Gleaners grow into the staple it has become in Jackson, Mississippi, to help combat hunger. Today, one of their seven trucks is named in her honor, The Gloria, which helps deliver food that would otherwise be wasted directly to those who need it, and sometimes that includes boxes of donuts.
“We need volunteers,” Pearsall shared. “But we also need financial support.”
The Volunteers of Gleaners in Jackson will be hosting several upcoming events to celebrate their 40th Anniversary. You can stay updated on their mission and learn how to get involved by visiting their Facebook page.
