Every year across Tayside, perfectly good fruit and vegetables are left unharvested. Produce that is the wrong size for supermarket packaging, a bumper crop that floods the market, or an unpredictable season can all leave growers with surplus they simply cannot sell. With the cost of harvesting falling on the grower, much of this food is ploughed back into the soil.
At the same time, demand for emergency food support is rising. According to the Trussell Trust, demand at food banks and community food projects has increased by 51% in the last five years. Fresh fruit and vegetables have been hit hardest by the cost-of-living crisis, and many community food projects rely heavily on supermarket surplus, which is becoming harder to secure and is often less healthy.
Without action, good food would continue to go to waste in the fields while families across Dundee went without.
Research carried out in 2021 with Faith in Community Dundee, which coordinates the Dundee Community Food Network (DCFN), found that gleaning could bring far more fresh produce into the network. Transition Dundee set up The Gleaning Project in 2023, and with charitable funding expanded it between 2024 and 2026.
Key elements of the project included:
- Rapid Response: A dedicated full-time staff member meant the team could respond to growers within two to three days. Harvest timings often depend on the weather and come at very short notice, so this speed was essential.
- Flexible Volunteering: A pool of more than 140 volunteers was mobilised through WhatsApp, so anyone free on the day could take part without committing to a regular role.
- Removing Barriers to Participation: Volunteer drivers and a minibus loaned by a community partner brought in students and people without their own transport.
- Direct Delivery: An electric van delivered produce straight to food projects across Dundee, Perth and Arbroath, at times that suited their own volunteers.
- Meal Bags: Some gleaned produce, such as pumpkins and turnips, was unfamiliar to service users. The team created meal bags with a recipe card and pre-measured, pre-prepared ingredients to build confidence in the kitchen.
- Food Education: Farm to Fork days invited community groups to glean together and then cook a shared meal. A series of fermentation workshops taught skills such as pickling, kimchi and kombucha making.
The team learned early on that meeting growers in person before a gleaning day helps visits run smoothly with minimal disruption to farm work. Limited cold storage proved the biggest constraint. Most gleaning takes place at weekends, but many food projects only open on weekdays. Partnering with Lochee Larder for extra fridge space helped bridge the gap, and the team is now exploring access to commercial cold storage.
The Impact
Over the course of the project, The Gleaning Project delivered:
- 59 gleaning days
- 144 volunteers taking part
- 13,508 kg of fresh produce saved from waste
- 553 meal bags distributed
- 9 food education workshops, including 3 Farm to Fork events
- 11 partner growers and producers
- 42 community food projects receiving produce
Volunteers consistently report benefits to both their physical and mental health. Spending time outdoors with like-minded people on a simple social good has helped reduce feelings of anxiety and helplessness. The activity is accessible to all ages and abilities, and families often take part together.
The project has also opened doors for new groups. After taking part in Farm to Fork days, several women from Dundee International Women’s Centre (DIWC) joined the wider volunteer team. Meal bag sessions engaged corporate volunteers, Scouts and young people from Transition Dundee’s Youth Project, giving them a practical way to learn about the climate impact of food waste.
“I love joining the gleaning crew because it is such a wonderful project. We reduce food waste, we get to know where our local growers are, we are outside and always have a cup of tea nearby waiting for us. It feels good mentally and physically to take part in such a project. The staff is happy for me to have my baby daughter with me. I feel safe and valued gleaning with the Transition team!”
— Gleaning Volunteer
“The Ferry Fridge greatly benefited from the Gleaning project last year. We have limited access to produce to fill the fridge, especially free food. The quality of the produce is great, the fact that it is delivered directly to the Ferry Fridge means we are not tied to additional car journeys to collect produce.”
— Volunteer, Broughty Ferry Community Fridge
“Being outdoors was so nice, I didn’t think I liked picking fruits but I have had a lovely afternoon. I can’t wait for more.”
— Farm to Fork Participant, Dundee International Women’s Centre
The Gleaning Project has grown into a lasting partnership between growers, volunteers and community food projects across Dundee. Building on this, Transition Dundee is working with local charity Uppertunity on a Sustainable Food Hub. The hub would bring together a social supermarket, a community kitchen, and training pathways for people with disabilities and additional needs, and would greatly increase the amount of food that can be gleaned and shared. We are delighted to have supported a project that is turning surplus into opportunity, and helping to build a healthier, fairer and more sustainable food culture for Dundee.
