The Androscoggin Gleaners work to reduce food insecurity and food waste in our county through harvest of excess food from local farms and delivery to emergency food providers. We are almost completely volunteer-run, with an informal planning team of 8 and a volunteer base of an additional 56 members. Our goal is to establish gleaning as a necessary and integral piece of local food systems, and to increase access to nutritious foods to all in our community. Gleaning groups are unique in that we aren’t reinventing the wheel, but rather taking two things that already exist in our communities - fresh local food and community food access sites - and building a bridge between them. The result? More people eating better food. In 2017, with nearly zero funding, we were a group with only enough volunteers to count on one hand. In our second full season we exponentially increased our volunteer numbers and more than doubled our harvest totals, delivering over 14,000 pounds of food directly to where people need it. But it’s not about the pounds; it’s about the food - 90,000 servings in 2017. These funds will allow us to continue our growth and expand the number of meals that we are able to provide to our most vulnerable neighbors. This will not just satisfy hunger but truly nourish a healthier, stronger and more equitable community.