I wanted to let you know that this year the Gleaning project started capturing the fruit that wasn't good enough for food banks and instead of composting it, redirected it to local cideries (and animal farmers, but that's not as much the theme here :)...over 20,000 lbs of fruit was sent for distilling to 6 local cideries. One received so much that they didn't need to purchase their annual truckload of apples from Yakima and another is planning on making a 'west side blend' where the purchase of such donates $1 to the Puyallup Food Bank. We're busy writing grants trying to figure out how to scale up! You're welcome to come volunteer when you get back if you are feeling nostalgic for all the cool things you're seeing this year. Wanted you to know that (as least a few) Tacoma peeps also feel a moral obligation and enthusiasm for turning waste into something beautiful! Hugs.
That’s amazing!! I hope my argument didn’t come across as a critique of gleaning. Rather, a critique of the need for the movement in the first place. A structural failing, not a personal or even organizational one. There are lots of folks, you among them, who hold this value very close and make it their life’s work to solve this problem. What struck me, being here in Romania, is that it doesn’t seem a problem to solve in the first place, because food waste just isn’t a thing like it is in the US. Romania’s food waste is less than 3%. And I think the legacy of state-imposed scarcity, and the fact that 40% of the population is still rural (18% in the US) hints at something important. Thanks for the insightful comment, and please please save me a bottle of cider.
Such thoughtful & beautifully written reporting made me think how you effectively critique the idea of the ‘fictitious’ commodity - with communities making use of accessible natural ‘resources’ in their social reproduction work, sustaining a different kind of value that is anything but fictitious!
Emily I really appreciate your insights. The resonances between Appalachian and Romanian country life are lively and stunning.
When we were in Romania the fall of Communism was still near enough that folks didn’t want to talk much about it. There was a grayness yet lurking in the atmosphere. But a beautiful beautiful place nonetheless.
By the way your moms paw paw bread looks delicious.
Thank you Chris! There’s still a lot of grey and the brutalist architecture has that looming presence, but it’s a colorful lively place and as you say, incredibly warm and beautiful
I wanted to let you know that this year the Gleaning project started capturing the fruit that wasn't good enough for food banks and instead of composting it, redirected it to local cideries (and animal farmers, but that's not as much the theme here :)...over 20,000 lbs of fruit was sent for distilling to 6 local cideries. One received so much that they didn't need to purchase their annual truckload of apples from Yakima and another is planning on making a 'west side blend' where the purchase of such donates $1 to the Puyallup Food Bank. We're busy writing grants trying to figure out how to scale up! You're welcome to come volunteer when you get back if you are feeling nostalgic for all the cool things you're seeing this year. Wanted you to know that (as least a few) Tacoma peeps also feel a moral obligation and enthusiasm for turning waste into something beautiful! Hugs.
That’s amazing!! I hope my argument didn’t come across as a critique of gleaning. Rather, a critique of the need for the movement in the first place. A structural failing, not a personal or even organizational one. There are lots of folks, you among them, who hold this value very close and make it their life’s work to solve this problem. What struck me, being here in Romania, is that it doesn’t seem a problem to solve in the first place, because food waste just isn’t a thing like it is in the US. Romania’s food waste is less than 3%. And I think the legacy of state-imposed scarcity, and the fact that 40% of the population is still rural (18% in the US) hints at something important. Thanks for the insightful comment, and please please save me a bottle of cider.
Such thoughtful & beautifully written reporting made me think how you effectively critique the idea of the ‘fictitious’ commodity - with communities making use of accessible natural ‘resources’ in their social reproduction work, sustaining a different kind of value that is anything but fictitious!
Loved the gleaner reference...
Beautiful!! I love reading of your adventures and pov. Happy Thanksgiving, Mamaw!!!
Yet another fascinating and insightful post! Thank you, Emelie!
Love that last line. Perfect.
Emily I really appreciate your insights. The resonances between Appalachian and Romanian country life are lively and stunning.
When we were in Romania the fall of Communism was still near enough that folks didn’t want to talk much about it. There was a grayness yet lurking in the atmosphere. But a beautiful beautiful place nonetheless.
By the way your moms paw paw bread looks delicious.
Thank you Chris! There’s still a lot of grey and the brutalist architecture has that looming presence, but it’s a colorful lively place and as you say, incredibly warm and beautiful