Gleaning Stories, Gleaning Change

More Voices from the August 8 Glean

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Another morning of iceberg lettuce, this time just north of Salinas in fields owned by Martin Jefferson & Sons. And real gleaning ... It was a long glean and we talked with a wide range of gleaners ....

Here is Part 2 of their stories. See Part 1 for a fuller description and more stories.

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Driscoll's Strawberries

Fourteen workers from the nursery greenhouses at Driscoll's came to glean. One of them, Roy Stahlhut, said that they got word kind of late for this glean, but that next glean he's sure they'll have many more folks out gleaning. "We're in production agriculture, so it's sort of related to what we do, and Driscoll's is really strong in encouraging folks to get out and do stuff in the community."

I talked with several of the Driscoll's workers. One of them, a greenhouse grower named Carlos Gonzalez, had been a jeweller in Mexico from the age of 17 until 2003, when he came to the U.S. to start a new life and career. In conversations in English and Spanish, he told me about the transition, learning English, and gaining skill as a nursery grower.

Carlos' wife, Flavia Estrada, was a seamstress in Mexico. She, too, found a new career in the U.S. She became a caregiver, first in an assisted living facility and then privately, for chronically ill older patients. She is currently caring for an Alzheimer's patient at his home. She told me, in English and Spanish, about her work and the work of other members of her family, several of whom have been farm workers and some of whom have gone to work in Driscoll's laboratories.

Our Lady of Angels Youth Group

A youth group from a church in Burlingame came down to the Salinas area for a week's "immersion trip," gleaning and doing other service and social justice work in the Salinas area. I talked with Mattie Welsh, Claudia Dompson, and Jennifer Winnett, and with the group's leader, Teresita Santiago.

Noland, Hamerly, Etienne & Hoss

The law firm of Noland, Hamerly, Etienne & Hoss supports Ag Against Hunger and has a member on their board of directors. Groups from the firm have come gleaning since 2008. Alvina Hohstadt, who works there, and her husband, Robbie, talked with me about helping out, working together, meeting new people, and having some fun doing it. Robbie's family farmed a couple of generations back in the Hollister/Modesto area, but he hasn't worked on a farm himself. Alvina grew up in South Dakota around "high ag" ... corn, hay, oats, and alfalfa. The family rented a house on a farm and although the family didn't work the farm itself, they were definitely part of that small farming community.

Our conversation reminded me that another person from the law firm, Tina, had told me last fall about working on her father's leased fields in Alabama. He called each field a "garden" but they'd all been 10 acres or so, and it made for hard work for a 9-year-old. Here's a bit of my conversation with Tina.

Carmel Presbyterian

Carmel Presbyterian members often make up a large group of gleaners. Today, it was just Rochelle Christiansen and her friend, Christina Davis, visiting from Maryland. Rochelle will be starting graduate school to study audiology and speech therapy for children. Christina is training to be a nurse. They'd both gleaned pears last summer, when hairnets and gloves were optional, and were hoping for fruit again today. But they've liked meeting folks, and both like to see food saved from going to waste.

Note: For more stories from the August 8th glean, see Part 1.