40,000 queue up to collect harvest leftovers

People gleaning corn after commercial harvest

Platteville, Colorado, November 24, 2008: The economy is in dire straits all over the world. It has hit every country really hard, especially the U.S. So anything that people get for free is a blessing. This is exactly what happened at a farm in Colorado this Saturday.

A farm couple, namely Joe and Chris Miller threw open their fields for people who want to take away the leftovers from the harvest. To their surprise, a whopping 40,000 people showed up to take the food.

The farm was rendered so clean on Saturday only that the couple had to abandon plans of a second day harvesting, which was supposed to be done on Sunday. About 600,000 pounds of produce was harvested on Saturday.

Mrs. Miller was quoted in the Denver Post as saying, “Overwhelmed is putting it mildly.” She further added, “People obviously need food.”

The couple had expected a turnout of around 5,000 to 10,000 people to collect potatoes, carrots and leeks. But to their utter amazement, some 11,000 vehicles lined their cornfields on Saturday.

The parking stretched to 37 miles north of Denver and covered 30 acres of the 600-acre farm area.

Sandra Justice of Greeley, Colorado, said, “Everybody is so depressed about the economy. This was a pure party. Everybody having a great time getting something for free.” She picked up ten bags of vegetables with the help of her son.

The decision of opening the farm for the public harvest was taken by the Miller couple after they heard news of food being stolen from churches. This act was supposed to be a thank-you gesture for customers.

As per Dave Patterson, the farm’s operations manager, the Millers had earlier allowed a few church groups and school children to harvest their own food on the farm in the fall.