The cab of a truck on an 80-degree sunny summer day can heat up to 130 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service: ideal conditions for germs and bacteria. It’s not the place to store freshly harvested produce bound to agencies helping the needy. 

To safely deliver fresh, locally grown food to those in need, Nancy Reiter, of Warwick, has been working with the Lions Club since last year on a grant to buy a new refrigerated van for Hope's Harvest, a nonprofit organization based in Providence. Hope’s Harvest gathers fresh, leftover crops from the fields of partner farms and donates them, an ancient practice known as gleaning. Currently, 33.7% of produce never gets harvested, according to a study by Santa Clara University. By gleaning, this organization and more than 200 others like it around the country are reducing this number.

The National Gleaning Project recognizes Hope’s Harvest as the only gleaner in Rhode Island. Since being founded in 2018, Hope’s Harvest has expanded to service 48 farms, including Ferolbink Farms in Tiverton and Shewatuck Farm in North Kingstown, and supply 48 hunger relief agencies.  In 2021 the organization’s 700 volunteers collected 634,000 pounds of food.  

On hot summer days Hope’s Harvest relies on a single refrigerated truck to collect temperature-sensitive produce from 48 farms. 

“We’ll do everything we can to make sure we pick up produce if it’s available,” said Reiter. Several times, her back seat has ended up full of cabbages and tomatoes.

A refrigerated van would enable Hope’s Harvest to increase deliveries and meet the higher yields expected for this growing season, following last year’s drought. It would also reduce the gas expenses of the larger vehicle that they currently use for both big and small trips.  

Reiter wrote the grant application for the new van. She found the opportunity in the Lions Club International Foundation’s list of grants on their website. Inspired by her involvement with the Greater Warwick Lions Club, for which she conducts free vision screening at Warwick schools, Reiter applied for the LCIF Hunger Grant, which funds capital expenses from $10,000 to $100,000.

According to the grant application’s requirements, the local Lions Club must raise 25% of the total grant. Reiter and her team estimated the vehicle’s cost at around $65,000, which makes the Warwick Lions Club responsible for $16,250. They raised their seed funds with an online food-related auction called “Lil Rhode Big Yum” in September of last year, and Lions Club District Governor Jason Hills secured donations from clubs around the state to cover much of the rest. 

However, between last year and today the cost of the van and the refrigeration retrofit increased substantially, so the club continues to fundraise to meet the new target. They are currently about $3,000 short of the goal, but they have a 6-month timetable to do it while the order is processed and the dealership retrofits the van.

Meanwhile, Reiter is focused on the peak harvest season, June through October. Raised in rural Missouri, where her parents grew much of their produce, she never lost her love for gardening. When the pandemic hit in 2020, she found Hope’s Harvest an ideal opportunity to get outside and help. Reiter is now a volunteer trip leader, a responsibility that involves bringing teams of workers to farms and collecting leftover packaged produce.  

But she enjoys gleaning the most. With any free time, she usually drives up to Four Town Farm in Seekonk on a gleaning trip to collect crops left over from the harvest. Some farmers plant rows specifically for them to harvest. She notes many opportunities, including driving, marketing, event planning, and social media. 

 “There are some farms where trip leaders need to know Spanish,” Reiter said. Now, with a new van expected, she hopes for the coming summers to be even busier.