Oceanside CA— Tomorrow, Saturday, April 21, the City of Oceanside will partner with ProduceGood, Oceanside Unified School District, Feeding San Diego, San Diego Food Bank and Waste Management of North County to present the first ever Oceanside neighborhood GleanUp Day. The City of Oceanside and our partners will only be collecting citrus for donation during GleanUp Day.
Gleaning is the practice of collecting excess fresh produce, such as citrus, from farms, gardens, and backyards and providing that food to those in need. When food waste goes into a landfill, it decomposes and produces methane gas. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, methane gas is 28 to 36 times more potent than carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. GleanUp day provides the opportunity for all of Oceanside to help reduce food heading to the landfill and redirect it to a beneficial use. Feeding San Diego and San Diego Food Bank will distribute the food collected during this event throughout Oceanside and San Diego County. According to the San Diego Hunger Coalition, an estimated 504,829 (1 in 6) people in San Diego County are food insecure.
Oceanside Residents: All of Oceanside residents are encouraged to glean their backyard and drop off their fresh citrus at Lincoln Middle School on April 21^st from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. for food donation distribution. ProduceGood volunteers will prep the citrus to be picked up by Feeding San Diego and San Diego Food Bank. When possible, we ask Oceanside residents to trim stems and remove leaves and avoid damage to citrus through torn or broken skin.
Fire Mountain Neighborhood: As part of a pilot program two additional free gleaning services will be offered for a select number of Fire Mountain residents surrounding Lincoln Middle School. This pilot is in hopes to bring residential gleaning options to other neighborhoods throughout Oceanside with the help of ProduceGood. Residents in the selected region must register for either of the services described below by visiting www.greenoceanside.org.
Free Curbside Citrus Pickup: Residents within a one mile radius from Lincoln Middle School may register for free curbside pick-up through www.greenoceanside.org. Residents are asked to glean their own citrus trees and place the citrus in bags or cardboard boxes on their curb by 8:00 a.m. on April 21^st. The citrus will then be picked up Curbside by City of Oceanside staff and brought to Lincoln Middle School to be donated.
Free Tree Picking Service: If residents are unable to glean their own citrus trees, they may register for ProduceGood volunteers to pick their citrus trees for them. Volunteers will arrive at the resident’s house between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on April 21^st to glean their trees. The citrus will then be brought to Lincoln Middle School to be donated.
“GleanUp Day is a great way for Oceanside residents to reduce the amount of edible food ending up in our landfill and redistributing that food locally with the help of our partners. With one in six San Diegans facing food insecurity why not feed people instead of landfills?” said Colleen Foster, Senior Management Analyst for the City of Oceanside.
GleanUp Day is one event during Oceanside’s Earth Month. Earth Month is a month full of free events sponsored by the City of Oceanside and local partners committed to sustainability. For more information on Earth Month’s events and the City’s environmental programs visit www.greenoceanside.org. Residents may also download the free Green Oceanside App and stay engaged with the Green Oceanside team by searching Green Oceanside in the Apple iStore or Google Play.