August 20, 2010 | 5:13 PM | By

Rescuing Corn for the City’s Hungry

FILED UNDER: Around the City, Culture, Food
corn

Bruno. C. / Flickr

After reading Nina Shen Rastogi’s piece in Slate (“A Rind Is a Terrible Thing To Waste“), I have been extra mindful of the disheartening amount of food we each waste, every day. Combine such mindfulness with news stories about food banks which are struggling to cope with increased demand, and the idea of wasted food seems even more depressing. That’s why stories like this are so wonderful– and important.

This past Saturday, Parker Farms and Bread for the City hosted yet another Glean for the City adventure. Our mission this time around was especially critical – rescuing yellow corn.

Why were they “rescuing” corn? Well, it had become infested with a devastating pest. Parker Farms was in the unenviable position of abandoning eighty acres of corn, because it couldn’t keep fighting a disgusting little worm. Enter Glean for the City:

We made the 90 minute trek down to Parker Farms in Colonial Beach, VA to rescue the corn and bring it back to our clients at Bread for the City…While a high percentage of corn is infested with the corn earworm, an even higher percentage of corn is perfectly edible…After a couple hours’ work, our 12 volunteers gleaned over 2,000 pounds of fresh, free, delicious yellow corn…Without our volunteers and Glean for the City, 80 acres of corn would become 80 acres of compost. (Really expensive compost.) Although devastated with the loss of so much corn, Rod says that the blow is softened by knowing that Bread for the City can make use of what is left of his corn crop.

If you’d like more information about Glean for the City, go here. Beyond Bread, the charity’s blog, is here.

About the author

DCentric was created to examine the ways race and class interact in Washington, D.C., a city with a vibrant mix of cultures and neighborhoods. Your guides to the changing district are reporters Anna John and Elahe Izadi. View all posts by Anna →