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If you have a orchard, garden or yard teaming with fruit and you know you won’t use it – there are people to pick it and a worthy place that needs it.
The Okanagan Fruit Tree Project is on a mission to pick unwanted produce to share with those in need.
According to the organization, thousands of pounds of valuable fruits, nuts and vegetables go to waste throughout the Okanagan every single year.
Abandoned orchards and farms, residents with more fruit than they can use and bumper crops all lead to an abundance of food that is often just left to rot in fields and backyards.
To help ensure the valuable food is not lost, the Okanagan Fruit Tree Project is reaching out again this year to anyone with extra vegetables to help reduce wastage and get nutritious food to hungry people in the community.
“A lot of garden and farm produce is needlessly going to waste at this time of year because people don’t have the time or ability to harvest or store it,” says the project’s executive director, Casey Hamilton.
“Our volunteers are happy to come out and harvest whatever you can’t use – whether it’s a small backyard plot or a larger market garden – and we’ll go anywhere from Penticton to Lake Country.”
Cherries, apricots, peaches, pears, plums, apples and grapes were already picked by some 350 volunteers this season.
Since its start in 2012, the project has picked more than 60,000 pounds of backyard fruit and vegetables throughout the Central and South Okanagan.
The harvested fruit is then shared among volunteers, tree/produce owners and donated to the Central Okanagan Community Food Bank, Gospel Mission, Salvation Army, Boys and Girls Club, and other charitable groups who then distribute the fruit to seniors, children and families, and individuals in need, either directly or through educational and recreational programs.
“As Thanksgiving approaches, fall crops such as squash, pumpkin and potatoes are especially appreciated,” says Ailsa Beischer, the Central Okanagan co-ordinator.
“We’re looking to continue with this momentum throughout October as colder months can often mean more difficult months for those already struggling to put food on the table.”
To arrange for volunteers to harvest your vegetables or nuts in Penticton or the Central Okanagan, please contact the project at 778-214-5664 or email them at [email protected].
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