Downers Grove-group seeking new director to continue sowing seeds
Joe Royston is at a crossroads.
The 54-year-old Downers Grove resident has successfully built the not-for-profit Gleaners for the Lord, an all-volunteer army that collects more than 2 million pounds of food each year at almost no cost and gives it to suburban food pantries.
But Royston is months away from a planned move back to his Tennessee home this summer, and he's looking for someone to replace him.
He fears that without a replacement, the Downers Grove-based organization could cease to exist and thousands of people in need might not have access to the free food his organization now provides.
“Anytime I plan something, it does not go how I envision it,” he said. “It goes how God plans it.”
Royston has been hoping to taper off his involvement in the ministry, but the reverse is actually happening more food has been distributed this year than in previous years.
Gleaning the Old Testament term that means leaving produce in the fields to feed the poor is practiced by many organizations, including the Virginia-based Society of St. Andrew, which has distributed hundreds of millions of pounds of food at almost no cost.
Royston decided to try hosting a food drop nine years ago after he attended an event where a representative of the group made a convincing speech about needing help.
“They turned me down three times,” he said.
Royston enlisted the youth group at his church the United Methodist Church of Downers Grove and about 30 local food pantries to help organize a potato giveaway. Trouble was, the Society of St. Andrew refused to provide the potatoes. One more call convinced them.
Within a few years, Gleaners was operating weekly food drops loads of potatoes, winter vegetables, canned foods, bread and even ice cream. It kept Royston busy about 60 to 70 hours each week.
He takes no salary, nor does anyone else affiliated with the not-for-profit. Royston supports his wife and daughter by driving a school bus for Valley View High School District in Romeoville and Bensenville.
“I have a full-time job, a part-time job, I'm actively involved in my church,” he said.
Along the way, he has enlisted help from a vast array of people, from truck drivers and farmers to Scout groups and others who want to help.
Tom Neumiller, owner of a Savanna, Ill., potato farm, donated potatoes, and he put Royston in touch with Royal Oak Farm Orchard in Harvard. Apples that fall to the ground cannot be sold, so Gleaners gained access for volunteers to collect them for food pantries.
“They let us glean there, and they give me whatever is left over at the end of the year,” Royston said.
Sweet corn is picked at Stade's Farm & Market in McHenry. After the farmhands drive corn pickers through the rows to select the best cobs for market, Gleaners volunteers are invited to harvest the remaining ears. Otherwise, the corn would become next year's fertilizer.
“We found out about Joe from Royal Oak,” said owner Vern Stade, 57. Stade donates some of his harvested produce to local food pantries, but the fact Royston's group goes into the fields to glean makes the donation more affordable.
“Food pantries and supermarkets give away so much food,” Stade said. “But Joe is remarkable. I can't believe how much food Joe gets from factories, manufacturers and the semi-loads.”
The Farm, a third-generation grower with farm stands in Carol Stream, Aurora and Westmont, is another provider that directs all inquiries from food pantries to Royston.
“Basically, we work though Joe and he sets it up where it works very well,” said The Farm co-owner John Smits, 52, of Downers Grove.
His business donates more than 600,000 pounds of squash, cauliflower, sweet corn, tomatoes, green beans and other produce to Gleaners and its network of pantries from mid-July through November.
Once a food drop or gleaning is scheduled, an army of Boy and Girl Scouts, religious groups and food pantry workers show up. They harvest or bag the food items and make deliveries to fill food pantry shelves.
“Joe is one of the largest vendors for our food pantry,” said Ray Meyers, 64, director of the Westmont Bible Church Food Pantry, which serves about 240 families monthly. “It takes a tremendous amount of food to feed everyone.”
Meyers took over operations in March, and Gleaners was the main food source until the organization established a relationship with the Northern Illinois Food Bank. Meyers figures 10 percent to 15 percent of the food they provide comes through Gleaners.
Royston never charges food pantries for what he provides. He has arranged deals on reduced freight prices and uses donations and an annual fundraiser the Gospel Jubilee holds at the First Baptist Church in Downers Grove it collects about $10,000 to help meet the costs.
It's a big, important job, and Royston hopes he'll find someone soon to take over the operation.
Royston has even figured out how to split up the job among several people. For example, two volunteers took over the sweet corn operation this summer. If he could find someone to help with administrative duties and others to coordinate food drops, most of the tasks would be covered.
What Royston has found is that even as his organization has expanded, the ability for pantries to accept fresh foods has grown, as has the number of pantries and the need for free food.
“There's just so much need,” he said. “People will be there three hours before I tell them to come.”
Information about upcoming gleanings and food drops is available on the Gleaners for the Lord website, gleanersforthelord.org. Send an e-mail to Joe@gleanersforthelord.org to receive monthly announcements or to submit a donation.