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Gathering Goodness Glean's food waste solution

For brother and sister duo Will Kornegay and Laura Hearn, co-founders of Farmville, N.C.-based Glean LLC, working for years at competing sweet potato growers revealed a problem with a solution that can be used across many commodities.

“We were cognizant of the waste issue, and also seeing trends of where produce is going, so we wanted to utilize different ways and be creative with it,” Hearn says.
Laura Hearn, Glean LLC co-founder
“We wondered what we could do to put a spin on produce in a way that hasn’t be done yet.”

Glean brings in off-grade produce, things like too-big or harvest-damaged sweet potatoes, beets and pumpkins, and dehydrates them to create “super food” alternative flours.

“Our goal is to reduce waste,” Hearn says. “And we also create clean label products, and donate pound for pound to causes that address poverty, hunger and malnutrition.”

See the process here:

For Kornegay, the endeavor also is personal. Just before starting the company, he was diagnosed with a rare disease that causes severe food allergies.

Will Kornegay, co-founder, Glean LLC
“It’s really reinforced all the dietary changes I’ve had to make,” he says. “I can relate to people have had had these problems, and understand their anxieties and what clean labels can do for people who need them.”

For crops like sweet potatoes, the process can help find a place for the nearly 40% of the crop that goes to waste.

“The benefit of our process is that we can use any potato,” Hearn says. “Consumers have been conditioned to look for a certain shape, size or color. With Glean, we can utilize 100% of the crop.”

Kornegay says the company is working on other commodities and uses for dehydrated powders, as well.

Glean beets on the production line.
“We’re working on some other interesting things,” he says. “The cool thing about it is that we can essentially try any fruit or vegetable.”
Created By
Pamela Riemenschneider
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Photos courtesy of Glean LLC

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