We've taken 5 trips over the past 4 summers to work at Gleanings for the Hungry in Sultana, California.

What is Gleanings for the Hungry?

Gleanings has a wonderful ministry to starving people around the world, as well as ministering to the teens that volunteer their time each summer to work the peach line.  The organization works to gather donations of peaches and nectarines that aren't able to be used in our food system.  They may be too big or small, split, bruised or ripe enough where they won't last the trip to a grocery store.  These peaches are sorted, cut and laid on trays where they can dry in the hot California sun.  The peaches dry in less than a week, and the dried fruit is packaged in 5 gallon plastic pails and shipped to missionaries around the world.  The fruit fills the bellies of people in over 75 countries while the Gospel message that accompanies it fills their spirit.

Gleanings began in 1982, when it's founder, Wally Wenge, returned from a trip to Thailand.  He saw so many hungry people on his trip, and thought about all of the food that was wasted in the California valley where he lived.  He began collecting fruit from area farmers that they would normally throw away or feed to animals.  In the first year, 102,000 lbs. of donated fruit was processed into 12,000 lbs. of dried fruit.  Today, Gleanings processes over 200,000 lbs. of fruit each week day during the 13 week fruit growing season.  

What work will I be doing on this trip?

The main work at Gleanings is done on an assembly line.  Workers sort through the donated fruit, pulling out the peaches and nectarines that are too spoiled or rotten to be processed.  Other workers arrange the peaches going through the coring machine so they can have the pits removed and be cut in half.  Youth will then help remove pits that didn't get caught by the machinery.  They also turn the peach halves so the skin is down and won't stick to the trays.  Dried fruit is brought in from the fields and workers help put the trays on the assembly line while more wokers pull out any rocks, pit pieces and wooden slivers from the trays before the dried fruit is put into 5 gallon pails.

Youth groups at Gleanings will also help to clean the dining hall, dorms, bathrooms and do anything else that can help around the Gleanings camp.  The work at Gleanings is not difficult.  If anything, it's tedious.  There are plenty of things you can do to make it more interesting, and it definitely helps to sing songs, make up peach stories and discover ways to pass the time while working in the peach plant.

What are the details of the trip?

The planned dates for the trip are Thursday, June 24 through Saturday July 3rd.  My plan as of this time is to fly into LA on Thursday and spend two days at Disneyland/California Adventures.  We'll then travel on Sunday to Gleanings   We need to arrive at Gleanings by Sunday evening for an orientation session.  We'll start work on Monday morning and work full days on Mon, Tues, Thurs. and Fri.  On Wed. we'll only work a half day.  Saturday morning is when we'll help clean up the dorms in the morning and leave no later than noon.  We'll try to fly home late on Saturday night.  


What are the costs involved with this trip?

Here is a breakdown of the possible costs of this trip.

Airfare - $250 - $300
Room and Board at Gleanings -  $85
Group t-shirt - $10
Transportation within California - $80
Two day pass to Disneyland - $104
Hotel stay - $90

The trip could cost somewhere between $600 - $650.  The cost will be more easy to determine when the final transportation arrangements are made.  We will have an updated idea of how much money we can expect from the Missions department.  In past years, we've received enough to cover about $200 per person.  I'm also seeking donations from the LWML of Nebraska, which was able to present us with $50 per person last year.  

The two days at Disneyland are not a definite plan, but a possibility.  If it is significantly cheaper to fly out to California on Thurs. June 24th, we'll do that and then spend two days at Disney.  If ticket prices are about the same, we may just fly out there on Saturday night, the 27th, and then head to Gleanings the next day.  

If you would really like to go, but your family is experiencing some tough financial times, please contact Scott and ask about the possiblity of some scholarship money that may be available.

Want to Sign up for the Trip??

Sign up will officially begin on Sunday, December 13th.  You can sign up by getting a $100 check to Scott, made payable to Messiah.  This is a non-refundable deposit, as plane tickets will be purchased with your name on them shortly after signing up.  Spots will only be open to Messiah members for the first few days, but beginning on Wednesday, December 16th, youth from outside Messiah are welcome to sign up too.  There are about 40 spots open for youth on this trip.

Update - The trip is now full.  There are 45 youth signed up to go to California this summer

Click here to see the list of those that have signed up and paid their $100 deposit.