EUGENE AREA GLEANERS NEWS 5-11-2020 – by Sara Ferris
HELP WANTED
Congratulations to Marie Summers, who recently moved up to be Vice President of Eugene Area Gleaners. That means the Secretary position is now open. You can view the duties here.
The Membership Coordinator position is also open. Details here.
GLEANS
Gleaning season is starting up, so watch your email or Facebook feed for signup information. Gleans last week were both on Friday:
- Stinging nettles
- Organic lettuce
Despite three cancellations, the gleaner crew rocked out over 200 pounds of lettuce, now available at the Garfield and Springfield bread drops.
Tip for perking up the lettuce in this hot weather: Put the cut end in a pan of water, and the leaves will rehydrate.
Gentle reminder. Cancellations are stressful and make extra work for the Glean Leader and crew. Emergencies happen, and we don’t want people gleaning while sick. And though there is a backup list, those people have often made other plans by the time spots open up. There may be no good solution to this, and the intent is not to call anyone out. But do keep in mind that we need to fill gleans, and when you sign up for a slot, that slot is yours, and the others who sign up are counting on you to show up.
Likewise, if you sign up for a wait list but then make other plans, please ask to be taken off the backup list.
The Participation Coordinator tracks cancellations. Those who cancel too often could be placed on the backup list as your starting point for a glean, and if there is a cancellation, you will be moved up. When given, reasons for cancellations will also be noted so people don’t get penalized for legitimate cancellations, such as for illness or changes in work schedule.
Leaders wanted. If you are at all interested in becoming a glean leader, please contact Susan Chapen at [email protected]. Training can be done over the phone or via Facebook chat.
JAR LIBRARY
The library has a new system for checking out jars. Contact Geri (best to text 920/883-9607) with your name and the kind and number of jars you need. Jars are checked out from the library at 1242 Garfield and must be returned when no longer in use. Geri will check in with borrowers every 6 months about returning or renewing jar checkouts.
VIRTUAL GARAGE SALE
If you can help with posting garage sale items to Facebook Marketplace, please contact Brandy. The more people who can help with this, the better, because Facebook will send you to timeout if you post to Marketplace too often.
Periodically check out the Marketplace or search the EAG Facebook group for items for sale. You may find something you need. Also share these posts with your friends—an easy way to help out with fundraising.
CALL FOR MATERIALS
Various efforts are underway to ensure that everyone stays safe. Our friends at Swallowtail Distillery have provided disinfectant for group use, but we need to provide 10-oz metal spray bottles (60 total). If anyone has leads on where to find these bottles in bulk, email [email protected]. They retail at the Dollar Store.
We are also working on getting enough masks for transporters, subs, drop-site hosts, Glean Leaders, and eventually gleaners who need masks to go on gleans. Donations of 100% cotton fabric and bias tape for ties are welcome.
GROUP BUYS
Two group buys closed in the last week or so:
- Canning jar lids from Bi-Mart
- Assorted pharmacy items (Thanks to longtime EAG member Jamaica Standiford
for allowing members of our group buy items through her pharmacy in Reedsport)
Watch for future opportunities—a honey buy is in the works, and the pharmacy buy may repeat.