History
The Society of St. Andrew was started by Rev. Ken Horne and Rev. Ray Buchanan, two United Methodist ministers, concerned with world hunger. In 1979, the two ministers were granted “a special appointment beyond the local church” by then Virginia Conference Bishop, Kenneth Goodson so they could found The Society of St. Andrew in Big Island, Virginia. For the next five years the two pastors and their families lived together in order to model a simpler lifestyle that rejected consumerism by growing their own vegetables, raising sheep, chickens, and rabbits, etc. At the same time the two pastors lead workshops on responsible lifestyles and hunger issues. During one such workshop at Franktown United Methodist Church on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, a Farmer named Butch Nottingham questioned Ken and Ray about the facts they presented regarding food waste. From the discussion that followed, the Potato and Produce Project was born. On June 3, 1983, a farmer from Chadbourn NC, donated a tractor-trailer load of sweet potatoes to the Society of St. Andrew. This first load of salvaged sweet potatoes was delivered to the Central Virginia Food Bank in Richmond, Virginia.
Since that first load in 1983 the Society of St. Andrew’s Potato and Produce Project has distributed well over 500 million pounds of food to America’s hungry. Originally the ministry operated out of a converted sheepshed on the farm in Big Island. A new building was constructed in 1990 to house the growing ministry. Also in 1990, as an offshoot of the Potato and Produce Project, The Society of St. Andrew began the Seed Potato Project to offer a hand-up to impoverished communities who wish to grow their own produce.
In 1985 the Society of St. Andrew launched Harvest of Hope, a gleaning and study camp for youth. The first event was held at Camp Occahannock-on-the-Bay, on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, and was led by Rev. Rhonda VanDyke Colby. A major component of Harvest of Hope is field gleaning. As more and more people became exposed to gleaning, they wanted to introduce it to their own churches. As a result, the Gleaning Network was established in Virginia in 1988. Since then, gleaning has expanded dramatically.
Beginning in 1992 the Society of St. Andrew has expanded into other states in the form of Regional Offices and gleaning ministries.
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