Many backyard gardeners don’t eat all the fruit that their trees produce. That’s where City Fruit comes in. The organization’s staff and volunteers harvest excess fruit from trees and donate it to local food banks and other food programs.
You can help City Fruit feed the community in a few different ways.
1. Sign up for a U-Pick Harvest Box
If you have a backyard fruit tree and would like to share its bounty, you can request a U-Pick Harvest Box. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic City Fruit’s harvest crew will be smaller than usual this year, so filling your own box is the easiest way to help.
How does it work?
- Click on this link to request U-Pick Boxes. City Fruit’s harvest crew will drop them at your home in 3-4 business days.
- Pick your fruit* and fill up the boxes!
- Notify the harvest crew by emailing harvest@cityfruit.org and they will pick up your fruit within 48 hours.
Don’t wait until the fruit starts to drop to the ground! Please request your U-Pick Box at least one week before the fruit starts ripening to allow enough time for the box delivery and make sure that the fruit is still in good condition when they deliver it to a food bank.
*Due to the extra time required to drop off and pick up the boxes, City Fruit will only accept fruit varieties with longer shelf lives such as apples, European Pears, Asian Pears, quince, persimmons and kiwis.
2. Volunteer to help
You can volunteer to help City Fruit in a number of ways. Now is a great time to sign up to help harvest fruit from backyard trees. The organization has adopted Covid-safe practices for its harvest, such as asking all volunteers to wear masks and gloves.
You can also help with winter pruning, spring mulching, spring tree planting, summer pruning and fruit bagging, fall orchard cleanup and winter Integrated Pest Management. City Fruit provides on-site introduction to tools and practices and also welcomes experienced volunteers.
If you’re interested in being more involved, you can become a Neighborhood Ambassador and help City Fruit glean from trees within your neighborhood. You could also help get out the word and raise funds. The organization also offers one-time opportunities for corporate groups to volunteer that can be hosted during the work week.
Find out more about volunteering here.
3. Donate to City Fruit
You can help City Fruit bridge the gap for families who don’t have access to fresh fruit. Many people have been forced to tighten their budgets during the pandemic, and fresh fruits and vegetables are more expensive than other filling foods like grains. And because fruit is perishable, food banks receive fewer donations of fruit than of highly processed food.
City Fruit offers the option of a one-time donation or monthly giving. You can also become a member of City Fruit. Members get CSA shares of harvested fruit, cider apples and discounts at events and from community partners.
Other City Fruit Resources
City Fruit also offers fruit tree care services, help with natural pest control (such as fruit baggies and tree netting), fact sheets about growing fruit, a blog and a monthly newsletter.
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