2025 Annual Apple Glean Nets 5,787 Pound Harvest for Food Security Programs
Every fall, the Annual Apple Glean at Johnston's Apple Orchard in Ellsworth invites local food pantries, meal programs, school backpack programs, and other food assistance programs to glean apples for their clientele. Every year, thanks to the generosity of the orchard owners, Brett and Doris Johnston, gleaners have brought between 4,000 and 7,000 pounds of apples back to food security organizations across Hancock and Washington counties.
This year, Healthy Acadia’s Food for All team engaged 55 people from food security organizations, Master Gardener volunteers, and Downeast Gleaning Initiative volunteers to glean 5,787 pounds of apples!
Thank you to the Johnston’s for their incredible generosity and support, to the volunteers who make this event happen, and to all who participated in this year’s event!
Participating Organizations
Bar Harbor Food Pantry, Bucksport Regional Health Center, Common Good Soup Kitchen, Emmaus Homeless Shelter, Everybody Eats, Hancock Grammar School Backpack Program, Healthy Island Project, H.O.M.E., Island Food Pantry, Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry, Magic Food Bus/Healthy Peninsula, Maine Family Planning WIC Agency, MDI Backpack Program, Mount Desert Island Hospital, Schoodic Food Pantry, Simmering Pot, UMaine Cooperative Extension, Washington County Gleaning Initiative.
About the Downeast Gleaning Initiative
Launched in 2013, Healthy Acadia’s Downeast Gleaning Initiative is working to reduce food insecurity by coordinating farm-based gleaning efforts throughout Hancock and Washington counties. Through partnerships with local farms, orchards, farmers’ markets, and community gardens, volunteers gather surplus fruits and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste. This fresh, locally grown produce is then shared with food pantries, community meal programs, rehabilitation centers, school backpack programs, and other vital organizations—helping to ensure that everyone in our communities has access to healthy, nourishing food.