http://www.jacksonville.com/community/mandarin_sun/2009-01-10/gleaners_pick_pass_on_citrus_to_the_needy

Gleaners pick, pass on citrus to the needy

* Story updated at 9:15 PM on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009

While attending the Duval County Horticultural Advisory Committee meeting recently, Susan Westermann of the Mandarin Garden Club discovered a great idea.

"I heard about this super cool Society of St. Andrew gleaning project," she said. "It's a group of local volunteers who go to people's homes to pick their unwanted citrus."

Westermann said that after picking, the orange and grapefruit gleaners donate the citrus to local food banks and organizations that support the needy.

"The volunteers will do whatever the tree owners want them to do," Westermann added, explaining that some people want only the top fruit picked and the lower fruit left for the tree owner to pick themselves.

"Some people ask for a few boxes of fruit to be left for them, and all the rest can be picked and taken for those in need," she noted.

Westermann, a long-time Mandarin resident, said she knows of many local people who have citrus trees in their backyards with more fruit than they can use.

"It's just a great idea to share it," she said.

Sandi Newman is the contact person for the St. Andrew gleaners and can be reached at sandinewman01@gmail.com.