GLEANING - the process of going through a field after it had been harvested to gather dropped or unharvested produce. Israelites were not supposed to pick up every bit of their harvest nor harvest their fields to the very edge. This permitted the less fortunate (e.g., resident aliens, widows, orphans) to pick up what was dropped or harvest the produce at the edge of the fields and thus have enough food to maintain their lives. Legislation supporting the concept of gleaning is in Lev. 19:9-10 and Deut. 24:19-22.