PLATTEVILLE — Miller Farms didn’t have the 40,000-person turnout to glean produce like it did last year, but then again, last year people didn’t walk away with 150 pounds of food.
This year, gleaners harvested much more food as only 5,000 people visited Miller Farms on Saturday, which was a welcome contrast to last year’s overwhelming number and general food free-for-all.
This was the second year that the farm’s owners opened its gates for gleaning, an ancient practice of foraging fields for unharvested crops.
“We plant enough for 40 Farmers Markets a week, then extra for our Fall Festival, then whatever’s left these people pick,” said Chris Miller, farmer and farmer’s wife.
This year’s leftovers equated to 20 acres’ worth of potatoes (about five tons), Brussels sprouts and carrots.
There would have been more, and differing types of produce for the few thousand that showed up to glean on Saturday, but a hailstorm in late July destroyed half of the crops, said farmer Joe Miller.
What was left for Saturday’s event were the underground veggies unaffected by the freeze.
Families dragged bins, crates and shovels to their car, filling their hatchbacks with whatever Miller Farms had to offer.
“I’m a city girl,” said Saundra Lubben of Denver as laborers (her kids) moved and rearranged the potatoes in their Safeway sacks.
“This is great fun and a great adventure,” said Lubben, who planned to collect enough produce for her extended family and to donate to the homeless this Thanksgiving.
A man driving a two-door sedan with Colorado license plates was ecstatic to find Brussels sprouts while digging for carrots. He thanked the Millers for the opportunity to glean the crop leftovers the farm had no intention of harvesting.
“That’s what it’s all about,” Joe Miller said as the man pulled away. “People get to be a farmer for a day and learn about where their food comes from.”
In addition to giving food to the community, Miller Farms donated about 50 tons to food banks this year.
The Millers said the 22-degree weather early Saturday was a factor in the smaller number of participants. They also had requested that only those in need come to glean.
Victoria Barbatelli: 303-954-1698 or vbarbatelli@denverpost.com
