Press Pack: The girls finding out what happens to leftover pumpkins
Press Packers Martha and Greta visit a farm to find out what happens to leftover crops
- Published
Lots of people visit pumpkin patches every year to choose a pumpkin and take photos, but what happens to the leftover pumpkins?
Press Packers Martha and Greta visit Sompting Pumpkins in Sussex to find out about gleaning, the gathering of leftover crops after a harvest.
They speak to Phil, who organised the glean to find out why people do it and they even get to have a go themselves.
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What is gleaning?
Gleaning is the ancient practice of gathering up leftover crops after harvest.
"We go onto farms after the main harvest has taken place, so the commercial crop has been picked but there's lots left behind," Phil Holtan from the environmental project Sussex Surplus explained.
It's not just pumpkins that can be gleaned.
Phil added: "We glean a lot of fruit like apples and pears. We sometimes get vegetables as well like leeks, kale or cabbage."
Crops that are gleaned are donated to homes as well as foodbanks and community projects that feed people who might otherwise not have access to healthy food.