PLATTEVILLE, Colo. — A farm couple got a huge surprise when they opened their fields to anyone who wanted to pick up free vegetables left over after the harvest — 40,000 people showed up.
Joe and Chris Miller’s fields were picked so clean Saturday that a second day of gleaning — the ancient practice of picking up leftover food in farm fields — was canceled Sunday. ” ‘Overwhelmed’ is putting it mildly,” Chris Miller said. “People obviously need food.” She said she expected 5,000 to 10,000 people to show up Saturday to collect free potatoes, carrots and leeks. Instead, an estimated 11,000 vehicles snaked around cornfields and backed up more than two miles. About 30 acres of the 600-acre farm 37 miles north of Denver became a parking lot.
Miller said they opened the farm to the free public harvest after hearing reports of food being stolen from churches. It was meant as a thank-you for customers.
We are looking more like a third world country every day.
Either that or these people just wanted free food.
Sounds a lot like the break room at work after a catered meeting.
Driving to get free food…
#2 completely right.back home there would have been fights and somebody probably in the hospital or maybe death for fighting over the rights to take all you want. this was way more civilized that would have been in a real third world country.
“People obviously need food.”
Really? I thought people were solar powered.
What would happen if I gave away free cars? I wonder if anyone would show up?
Another mis-analyzed stupid story.
I agree with the other postings. This is a stupid and misleading headline. What proof is there that the people were hungry and not just looking for something for free?
The same thing would happen if a Christmas tree farm offered free trees.
I call bullshit how did 40k people find out in 2 days that the farmer was offering a pick the left overs farm
show me the source and was it confirmed
I thought “Free Food” meant that you could pay for your hooker on craiglist with giftcards.
#7 – Paddy-RAMBO
>>Another mis-analyzed stupid story.
Yeah, I know the guys down at your Radio Shack wouldn’t think twice about driving an hour or two round trip and spending an afternoon slogging through the fields to get $5 or $10 worth of free lettuce and carrots.
Most people wouldn’t be willing to do that, unless they REALLY NEEDED the food.
Third-world, just like McC opined. The last 8 years of “governance” have taken the mightiest country on earth and driven her to her knees.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED?
Agreed: Poor editorializing by the editors… which is par for the course around here.
It’s actually a pretty nice story. Hopefully other farmers take the cue and start doing the same.
I used to live by Melon farms after their harvest they open up the field to the people. Free melons of all sort for weeks!
And yet the farms that use manual labor (not so much machines) claim that Americans don’t want the job of picking their produce. So they must “hire” illegals to do it. Bullsh*t! Here there were thousands, willing to do it. At least for a weekend. So some kind of a American temp labor force is possible, without resorting to illegals. The truth is that Americans still want more than just a promise that they’ll be paid. They want actual money, and some work safety practices. Otherwise, hell yes it’s not worth risking their time and health over. The illegals are just more willing to risk not being paid, and risk their health too. And more often than you might hear, they get shafted by the owner. But they have nobody to complain to, since they’re illegals. And that’s why farms prefer to hire them. And pretend that most Americans won’t do the jobs. Well Agriculture has simply gotten too long of a free, unregulated ride in this country. Thanks to the millions that they ply Congress with, to keep it that way.
Well Agriculture has simply gotten too long of a free, unregulated ride in this country.
Are you saying we should regulate the farmers?
Hell, they’re already regulated. We’ve already got too many bureaucrats with their fingers in the pie now.
You got one government group paying them not to grow something while another is trying to figure out how to get them to grow it.
Or else, they are paying them to grow something else, letting them double dip.
Then you have the import tariffs keeping their prices high on top of that.
And you want to add ANOTHER agency to come up with legislature-bypassing regulations?
#16 – LL
>>Are you saying we should regulate the farmers?
Yep. Everything you point to is not “regulation”, it’s a free ride. And a free ride mostly for ConAgra and other mega-farms that grease the palms and dicks of the legislators.
I believe what Glenn E. was suggesting is that we CRACK DOWN on this nonsense of paying billions to billionaire “farmers” not to grow this, so they can turn around and grow that, making twice what they should be making.
#13 – James Hill
Gosh. I actually agree with you. At least with your second paragraph.
#17, that we CRACK DOWN on this nonsense of paying billions to billionaire “farmers” not to grow this, so they can turn around and grow that
You are so close to be a libertarian, MM, that it almost brings a tear to me eye.
However, regulation is not necessarily the control of an industry. It is also the creation of regulations that affect an industry. Regulation doesn’t necessarily keep an industry in check. It can also be used to keep out competition allowing the industry to thrive at the expense of someone else.
Who is suffering due to the regulations in our farming industry?
This is a bad sign. It mean we are in a tough economic time. If the people have a good job, there wouldn’t be that much people on the field. I pray for something good for this nation.
It has a population of 2,300 people. There is no way 40,000 people showed up. Closer to 4,000. Those country folk, they ain’t good with those zeros.
#22. Close to Denver…..get it?
#18 – And why not the first? The editors around here suck, and you know it.
#21 – ‘dro
>>So you agree that the argument about illegal
>>aliens being here because no one wants to do
>>low wage jobs is crap? Seems I will have to
>>start changing how I perceive you.
You’re like a pesky fly, ‘dro. Better watch out somebody doesn’t swat you.
#22 – Reed
>>Those country folk, they ain’t good with those
>>zeros.
Yeah, but it was the limo-riding, leather-glove-wearing tofu-eating MBAs at the Washington Post that wrote the story. They’re pretty good with the cipherin’.
Besides, the article also said that THIRTY ACRES of the 600-acre farm were used for parking. You can fit an awful lot of horse ‘n’ buggies on 30 acres.
#19 – LL
>>You are so close to be a libertarian, MM, that
>>it almost brings a tear to me eye.
I’m not unsympathetic to the libertarian point of view. The problems I have with them include the anti-choice stance (Ron Paul), white supremacist leanings (Bob Barr as a keynote speaker at meetings of the Council of Conservative Citizens), and the fact that a most self-proclaimed Libertarians I know are tight-assed right-wingers. Plus, they’re not electable at anything above the township level. I’d rather spend my POTUS votus getting Obama in rather than McBush, instead of frittering it away on some guy (that I don’t agree with in the first place) who’s going to garner fewer votes than Ralph Nader.
Plus, they’re not electable at anything above the township level.
They could be if that attitude would change into “it’s possible.” As long as the msm keeps their two favorite parties in the limelight, no one else stands a chance. People tend to vote for who they think is going to win, not their conscience.
It’s not really a choice when you aren’t given all the facts.
#28 – LL
I don’t only get my facts from the MSM.
I just don’t like anti-choice candidates, I don’t like candidates with a hidden “white supremacy” agenda, and I don’t particularly like tight-assed right-wingers. I don’t really have a problem voting for somebody who’s going to lose; I voted for Ralph Nader a few elections back.
I heard Bob or Chris Miller getting interviewed by NPR yesterday. He sounded like one nice man. He said they will do it again but will plan for it better. He said they really liked having people come out and help themselves but felt there was a safety issue because of the cars parking on the highway. He was afraid a semi-truck might come in contact with a car or person.
My impression was that he was a man that loved what he was doing for a living and he genuinely felt that he was doing good by offering this opportunity.
Hey this happens all the time in harvesting areas; wheter it be sugar beets, potatoes or any root tubar crop. It just isn’t advetised!
#32 – ‘dro
You’re like a pesky fly, ‘dro. Better watch out somebody doesn’t swat you.