Food waste is a national epidemic: the Natural Resources Defense Council estimates that up to 40 percent of the food sold in the United States—133 billion pounds—goes directly into the trash. Tracy Oseran of Urban Gleaners knows this all too well. Since 2006, she has steered her van all over Portland, collecting excess produce, dairy, and whole-grain breads from grocery stores, restaurants, bakeries, and farmers markets to make weekly deliveries to homeless shelters and schools in high-poverty areas like Mill Park—all with just three full-time employees and a team of volunteers. Oseran started Urban Gleaners after hearing an NPR story about food waste. She drove straight to Bluehour and asked the cooks for the day’s leftovers. “You have to be really pushy, which initially was hard,” she says. “But I learned how to do it.” Her persistence has paid off. Last summer, Urban Gleaners expanded into a 3,300-square-foot space in Southeast Portland. Here’s a snapshot of how Oseran leverages minimal resources for maximal impact.
