From the NY Times magazine

[Liti]

The Ethicist

By RANDY COHEN
Published: October 15, 2009

I have a plot in a community garden. My neighbor does not harvest much
of her produce. Our garden has organized a food contribution program.
Last year we donated more than 6,000 pounds of fresh vegetables. May I
harvest my neighbor’s doomed-to-rot vegetables and send them to the
program? J.L., MINNEAPOLIS

This puts me in mind of Ruth in the Old Testament. Poor and hungry,
she went into the fields of Boaz and left him a Post-it note stuck to
some barley (if I recall my Bible classes, and clearly I don’t) asking
if she could join with the gleaners and harvest his leftovers as
Leviticus commands. I believe it comes down to us as the tale of the
Post-it Note-Leaver. You, too, should leave your neighbor a note
asking if you may reap her left-behinds. Or, if she shows up when
you’re hoeing or scything or whatever, talk to her. If you receive no
reply, then go ahead and harvest, regarding those vegetables as
deliberately abandoned property.