Charlie Oliver of Oliver Sod Farm has helped grow our impact since the very beginning.
Charlie co-owns the family farm in Macomb with his brother Ron. While the Oliver’s are best known for their sod, they’ve dedicated fields to collard greens, corn, peppers, and cabbage—grown specifically for Gleaners. Each year, they donate about 60,000 pounds of fresh produce to help feed families across Southeast Michigan.
Charlie’s generosity is planted in family and farming. He’s been working the land “since birth”—more than 70 years—and remembers watching his parents give away food at the Royal Oak Farmers Market. That spirit of giving has carried forward in everything he and Ron do today.
The Oliver family has played a critical role in Gleaners’ history. In the 1970s, when Gleaners’ founder Gene Gonya needed a farm with a loading dock to accept a delivery of cabbage plants for his new food bank, the Olivers stepped up. Later, Charlie and Gene worked together to secure early support for what became the Food Bank Council of Michigan in the 1990s.
Even now, the Olivers’ partnership goes beyond produce. They help reduce landfill impact by taking back organic matter from our warehouses to use on their farm. “It’s good for the ground,” says Charlie. This simple practice helps us waste less while improving the soil that grows healthy produce for our community.
From the very first seed to each harvest that follows, the Olivers’ story reminds us that generosity grows best when it’s rooted in community.
We’re so grateful to Charlie, Ron, and the entire Oliver family for helping Gleaners nourish our neighbors and strengthen our community.
English 
Spanish 
Arabic