Glean Kentucky
Gather. Connect. Nourish.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Glean Kentucky works to tackle food waste and food insecurity in Kentucky. Within the state, 1 in 7 adults and 1 in 5 children do not know where their next meal is coming from. The organization partners with sources of food, such as grocers and farms, and redistributes the fresh fruits and vegetables to partner feeding programs.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Gleaning
Our core program is gleaning: collecting excess fresh fruits and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste for donation to agencies, churches, and other feeding programs that nourish people who are hungry. Volunteers collect the produce from growers (or harvest it from their fields) and deliver the food to those in need. Gleaning is a win for the farmers, who do not have to haul unused produce back to the compost bin or plow it under; a win for the volunteers who get the satisfaction of helping farmers and people that are hungry; a win for the agencies, churches, and other locations whose food costs are reduced and who can improve food quality and nutrition; and a win for the individual recipients who receive nutritionally superior food. Each year, we complete over 1,000 gleaning trips. In 2020, we will glean our 2 millionth pound of fresh produce.
Nourishing the Commonwealth
Glean Kentucky is working to expand statewide to minimize food waste and nourish the Commonwealth.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
Kentucky Nonprofit Network 2011
LFUCG 2014
United Way Member Agency 2014
Member Downtown Lexington Corporation 2011
Kentucky Hunger Task Force 2019
External reviews
Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Pounds of produce distributed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Gleaning
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Total pounds of food rescued
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Gleaning
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Glean Kentucky has rescued over 2 million pounds of fresh produce.
Number of food donation partners
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Gleaning
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Glean Kentucky intends to make a significant contribution to reducing hunger
and food waste in Kentucky. Our goal for the next several years is simple:
increase the number of people and programs we serve. In order to achieve this
goal, we need capital and capacity to recruit more volunteers and develop relationships
with more sources of food to glean. In combination, these two resources will
allow GleanKY to nourish individuals with produce that would otherwise go to
waste.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Glean Kentucky aims to remove as many barriers from our work as possible - for recipients and volunteers alike. Our gleaning program is very efficient, with volunteers picking up produce directly from groceries or farmers and distributing it directly to feeding agencies in the area. GleanKY doesn't charge recipient sites for the food it distributes, nor do we request identification or proof of need from clients.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Glean Kentucky is equipped with a large number of dedicated, reliable volunteers - in 2016 we had more than 400 unique volunteers allowing us to provide produce to over sixty feeding agencies in Central Kentucky. We're now equipped with four full-time staff members - an Executive Director, a Program Director, a Development Director, and a Fayette County Coordinator - who are working to ensure Glean Kentucky is able to work in the most efficient way possible.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Gleaning began in June 2010 and since then, Glean Kentucky has gleaned nearly 2 million pounds and partnered with over 200 agencies throughout the Commonwealth. Glean Kentucky has utilized long term and consistent partnerships to make our initiative in Fayette County year round. 39% of agencies rely solely on Glean Kentucky for fresh fruits and vegetables. 100% of agencies are able to serve a greater variety of nutritious food. Nearly half, or 48% of agencies are able to save valuable resources and reallocate them to other programming because of Glean Kentucky.
Glean Kentucky strives to be a partner for the community. In the last decade, Glean Kentucky has partnered with agencies such as FoodChain who process and extend the shelf life of produce that's at its peak freshness. Glean Kentucky has reached communities as far south as Somerset, as west as Henderson, and as far east as Mount Sterling. In 2018, Glean Kentucky became a member of the Hunger Task Force spearheaded by Kentucky's Commissioner of Agriculture, Ryan Quarles.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Glean Kentucky
Board of directorsas of 06/29/2023
Jamie Parks
Jillian Pyatte
University of Kentucky
Rachel Shelton
Eileen Bunch
McBrayer PLLC
Tim Meehan
Xometry
Allison Carter
Dean Dorton
Travis Purcell
MCM CPAs
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 06/29/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.