Massachusetts Gleaning & Food Recovery Organizations

Berkshire Bounty

Berkshire Bounty is located in Barrington MA. This all volunteer run organization has no paid staff. Started in 2017 they collect food from local farms and yards in addition to buying food from farms for donation. Volunteers 18 and older are welcome to help harvest and distribute food year round.

33 Commonwealth Ave, Great Barrington, MA 01230 Gleaning Type: On-farm, Residential, Food recovery Organization Type: All volunteer

Boston Area Gleaners

Boston Area Gleaners is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 2004 focused on agricultural gleaning in Greater Boston. The website includes information for farmers and individual volunteers.

91 Martin Street, Acton, MA 01720 Gleaning Type: Urban, Food recovery Organization Type: Nonprofit

Fair Foods

Dorchester, MA based non-profit organization that engages in food rescue from industrial food suppliers for distribution regardless of income level. The website includes information for volunteers and donors.

10 Parish St, Dorchester, MA 02122 Gleaning Type: Food recovery, Distribution, Urban Organization Type: Nonprofit

Food for Free

A nonprofit organization that rescues food from farms, farmers markets, CSAs, wholesale distributors and grocery stores that also engages in delivery and transportation services and runs a small farm. The website includes information for volunteers and others.

11 Inman Street, Cambridge MA 02139 Gleaning Type: On-farm, Farmers markets, Urban, Food recovery, Distribution Organization Type: Nonprofit

Food Rescue US – Boston

Food Rescue US is dedicated to eliminating hunger and food waste (keeping food out of landfills and reducing greenhouse gasses). We engage volunteers and food donors through our proprietary web-based app to directly transfer nutritious, excess food to social service agencies serving the food insecure.

Boston, MA Gleaning Type: Food recovery, Other support (software, management, etc.) Organization Type: Paid staff

Holyoke Collective

Founded in 2020 the Holyoke Collective is an all volunteer organization that works to promote health and equity and in Holyoke, a city with low food equity and access. They help build gardens, work on city policies, and issues surrounding food access and sovereignty. A strong focus of their work is anti racism and racial equality. They glean from local farms with the help and support of volunteers.

No physical address Gleaning Type: On-farm Organization Type: All volunteer, Nonprofit

Island Grown Initiative

Nonprofit organization that runs a Gleaning Program to recover and deliver surplus food crops to multiple locations serving the food insecure on Martha's Vineyard. This organization also offers support to gleaning start-ups.

4 Cournoyer Road, West Tisbury, MA 02575 Gleaning Type: Urban, Distribution, Food recovery Organization Type: Nonprofit

League of Urban Canners

The League of Urban Canners works in Boston, MA to rescue fruit from backyard and urban fruit trees and then produces value-added products to share with the community, such as jams and juices. This started as a very small operation with bikes but has now grown to encompass over 100 fruit trees.

No physical address Gleaning Type: Urban, Residential Organization Type: Nonprofit, All volunteer

Lovin Spoonfuls: A Food Rescue

Boston, MA based nonprofit that "facilitate's the rescue and distribution of healthy, fresh food that would otherwise be discarded" and delivers it to the food insecure. The website includes information for volunteers and others.

1304 Commonwealth Avenue Boston, MA 02134 Gleaning Type: Urban, Food recovery, Distribution Organization Type: Nonprofit

Rachel’s Table

Springfield, MA based organization that runs a gleaning project called Helping Harvest, which encourages youth and adult volunteers to participate in on-farm gleaning and distribution of food to pantries, shelters, soup kitchens and food shelves. The website include information for volunteers, food donors and farmers.

1160 Dickinson St, Springfield, MA 01108 Gleaning Type: On-farm, Distribution Organization Type: Nonprofit

Rachel’s Table

Rachel's Table is a program through the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts. They are committed to reducing food insecurity in Western Massachusetts and reducing overall food waste.

1160 Dickinson St, Springfield, MA 01108 Gleaning Type: Food recovery, Distribution, On-farm Organization Type: Nonprofit, Religious affiliation, Paid staff

Rescuing Leftover Cuisine

Nonprofit that works with hotels, restaurants and other companies to encourage food donations that can be distributed to needy communities. Additional services offered include food waste consulting, excess food delivery, co-branding services, and tax credit assistance. The website includes information for volunteers, food donors and those interested in donating food.

No physical address Gleaning Type: Urban, Food recovery Organization Type: Nonprofit

Spoiler Alert

Spoiler Alert is an enterprise software to support food waste management efforts for wholesalers, manufacturers, and retailers. We offer item-level tracking into how your surplus food is managed, tax documentation with e-signature verification from nonprofits, and a reporting dashboard to see the financial, environmental, and social metrics of your donation activity.

No physical address Gleaning Type: Urban, Other support (software, management, etc.) Organization Type: Nonprofit

The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts

Hatfield, MA based nonprofit runs the Food Bank Farm in conjunction with Mountain View Farm CSA, providing fresh produce for the regional food bank. Other services include food distribution, nutrition, and senior food programs. The website includes information for volunteers and others.

97 North Hatfield Rd Hatfield, MA 01038 Gleaning Type: On-farm, Distribution Organization Type: Nonprofit