Waste not

It’s muddy at the edges of the orchard but, in among the trees, there’s grass underfoot. Still wet with dew, it conceals windfall apples that I try not to tread on as I reach for a shiny Braeburn.

In the time it takes me to select my apple and carefully twist it from its twig without damaging the tree, those picking beside me – experienced members of the East Kent Gleaning Group – have stripped the branches and are moving to the next tree over.

This orchard, on Selson Farm in Kent, has already been harvested by a team of professional pickers, but you wouldn’t know it. Farmer David Bradley estimates that around 15% of his crop is typically left unharvested – too small, too big, too green or with too many marks to meet the specifications of the supermarkets. It’s a source of frustration for him: “The goodness inside the apple is just the same.”

That’s why the gleaning group is here: Bradley would much prefer his apples to be eaten than left to rot into the ground. The gleaners will make that happen, picking some of that remaining 15% and distributing it to those in need via community kitchens, food banks and primary schools across East Kent.

Food waste in farming is an issue all over the UK, with 10–16% of food crops wasted before they leave our farms, according to research by the campaigning charity Feedback Global. It’s not just supermarkets’ specifications that are to blame. Overproduction is built into the system so that farmers can guarantee supply in case of poor harvests. Further waste occurs as a result of supermarkets changing their orders at short notice. That 10–16% wastage equates to up to 37,000 tonnes of food annually. When you consider that there are five million people in the UK in food poverty – unable to afford or access enough food to make up a healthy diet – and that food poverty is worsening, with a 33% increase in food bank use from April 2020 to March 2021, this wastage is especially shocking.

Gleaning – the gathering of crops left over after the main harves