No goats, no glory: GleanScreen brings barnyard animals to virtual gatherings

June 24, 2020

Picture this: You’re logging on to your umpteenth Zoom meeting of the day, tired of the monotony of working from home.

You sit there, eyes half-glazed … and then realize an alpaca or goat is staring back at you.

This is the kind of spontaneous, out-of-the-ordinary joy that Beth Jensen, a Sanford Health family physician, hopes to bring to people through GleanScreen, a recently launched service where she rents out her farm animals to join virtual gatherings.

Jensen started GleanScreen about a month ago as an offshoot of her Glean for Good project. When she started Glean for Good, she made it her goal to promote healthy, sustainable lifestyles for Sioux Falls residents, especially the needy and underserved. 

She never could have envisioned that this project would one day include pigs crashing a Zoom meeting.

She said she was inspired when she saw a California farm advertising its animals for online gatherings and immediately knew this unusual idea was perfect for Glean.

She since has offered Ginger the alpaca, Tank the kunekune pig, Shrek and Brownie the mini-donkeys, Sunny the cat, Schultz the Labrador retriever and a whole myriad of goats for guest appearances at virtual work meetings, birthday parties and class field trips.

“I think in large part it’s to remind all of us that even though this human interaction has been stunted and interrupted, our … nature has not slowed down, and it is really no different than last year,” Jensen said.

“(And) just recognizing that to appreciate God’s creation, there are certain things you can count on and we can still enjoy, even though a lot of our major things in our lives are interrupted.”

In pre-COVID-19 times, Jensen focused Glean toward providing education on the benefits and accessibility of growing one’s own food.

She said many people have the mind-set that raising chickens or cultivating a home garden is only for farmers, but she wants to change that. At her acreage just south of Garretson, she invites groups — mostly youth-based — out for a day camp where they learn about what goes into farming and making meals entirely from self-cultivated ingredients.

Glean gets its name from the Old Testament concept of gleaning, where the most vulnerable members of the community are allowed to gather food that was left in the field after the harvest. With her programs, Jensen follows this concept to help raise awareness about reducing hunger in South Dakota.

“My hope is that this Glean for Good project changes the culture so that those that have a lot have no extra, and those that have little have just enough,” she said, “and to kind of democratize this — to just create a more level playing field and allow everyone to have an opportunity to live this healthy lifestyle.”

Once the pandemic hit and groups could no longer come out to the farm, Jensen knew GleanScreen was the way to go. And so far, it has been a hit.

From a birthday party in Ghent, Belgium, to a celebration of the opening of a new ophthalmology clinic in Minnesota, GleanScreen has been used by a wide range of clients for many different occasions.

“I think it is still a novelty to a lot of people,” she said. “It’s just such a surprise and such a unique gift when you’re gathering online. There’s not a whole lot that you can do to surprise people. So it (the feedback has) been very positive.”

Kelly Addink, a Sioux Falls Christian Schools elementary librarian, used GleanScreen for an end-of-year field trip for her students. Addink and Jensen’s daughters are on the same volleyball team, so Addink said she was aware of Glean and its mission and thought it would be a fun learning opportunity for her students. 

Instead of the picnic or roller skating party that the school usually would throw in the last week of class, students were invited to join a Google Meet session where animals were dressed up in school gear.

“The kids loved it,” Addink said. “It’s just not the norm for kids to see. It was super fun and unique, and Beth is just wonderful — so calm and kind and gentle. She does a great job conducting these sessions virtually because she just rolls with whatever happens with the animals or kids.”

For as long as GleanScreen is necessary to entertain and educate her customers, Jensen hopes that it gives them a positive experience, a new way to connect with others and the tools to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

“All along, the philosophy of Glean for Good is that we are most healthy when we are connecting with our neighbors and we are spending more time outside and being a part of harvesting our own food and preparing that,” Jensen said.

“And so I hope that GleanScreen just keeps that interest there so that when we’re able to invite people to the farm again that they remember having such a great time just watching the animals and really want to experience that for (themselves) and for (their) kids.”

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No goats, no glory: GleanScreen brings barnyard animals to virtual gatherings

Here’s one way to perk up a virtual meeting: Invite a goat, pig or alpaca. Call it bringing the farm to the virtual conference room table.

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