At Fraser Valley Gleaners we take donated surplus and non marketable vegetables and with the help of our amazing volunteers turn it into a dehydrated vegetable soup mix which is given away to partner organizations to distribute to hungry people around the world.
Did you know the idea of "Gleaners" comes from the heart of God? In biblical times, ‘gleaning’ meant to look for left-over or missed produce. Landowners were mandated by law to ensure that sufficient un-harvested food was left to enable the poor, the migrant and the orphaned to survive. Fraser Valley Gleaners (FVG) is a non-profit Christian organization operating in the same spirit. As we have received much in God’s love and grace, we want to demonstrate that to others. We live in a place of abundance and feel a responsibility to share it with those less fortunate than ourselves.
As a registered Canadian charity, FVG is both volunteer and donor driven.
Fresh and frozen vegetable produce, as well as pulses (protein for the soup mix) are donated by a committed and growing set of produce & pulse partners.
FVG operating costs are completely covered by the generous donations of our financial partners made up of individuals, foundations, and corporate sponsors.
On weekday mornings, volunteers from many walks of life give of their time and energy to sort and process the vegetables. The produce is chopped and diced, then spread on trays. The trays are placed in racks and the racks wheeled into our industrial-size drying units. Drying times are between 8-10 hours. The dried product is then removed from the trays and stored in barrels. Once we have an entire season’s worth of dried items for our soup mix, the mixing lines are set up and several of the winter months are devoted to transforming individual barrels of vegetables into a versatile just-add-water soup mix.
Our volunteers and donors make it possible for us to give our soup mix away free of charge to reputable distribution partners who deliver the soup bags to those in need around the world.
If you'd like to volunteer, click HERE. If you'd like to donate, click HERE.