For years I’ve wanted to organize a program to harvest fruit from yards of people who didn’t want their fruit—oranges, grapefruit, apricots, etc. And now I’m thrilled to say this dream has come to fruition: By Natasha Boissier.
Who is Natasha Boissier? An enterprising citizen of Berkeley, California who got sick of seeing fruit rot on trees. She took the initiative to start North Berkeley Harvest, a fruit gathering and donation program.
She’s inspired me to transfer my life list goal to to start a program for donating unwanted tree fruit to shelters from the Backburner to my active goal list, where I had it in 2006. Oh I’m so ashamed…originally I wanted to do this in 1997. But that’s what happens if something isn’t really a priority.
Start Your Own Fruit Harvesting Program
Natasha kindly answered a few questions to help YOU organize such an effort:
How did you spread the word to people with fruit trees?
I put flyers in the mailboxes of people who I could see had fruit trees in their yards. I also put announcements in community newspapers and online forums.
And to get volunteers?
I recruited friends initially and as word got around people approached me to volunteer. I am nervous about taking on volunteers whom I don’t know because of liability issues, but I have taken a few. I also enjoy picking alone once in a while. It’s a great way to get exercise and alone time.
How does it work logistically?
- I organize the harvest time and place, let the volunteers know through an email stating when & what area the harvest is scheduled for.
- When volunteers confirm they are interested in coming along, I email them the address. This way, I know who is coming ahead of time.
- I ask the fruit tree owners if they have bags/boxes we can use.
- I also bring boxes I get from a local grocery store that throws them out.
- I bring back all the fruit to my garage and deliver it to local organizations within three days.
Setting Up a Website
Google Pages is a free way to set up a quick website, as you can see from this example. Or you can set up a blog at no cost on Wordpress.com, Blogger, or even use Facebook to communicate with people in your neighborhood.
Postscript from Susie
Natasha may not have been thinking globally when she acted locally, but her work has started an “idea virus.” She says, “I’ve heard from people in Maui, South Africa, Pasadena, Kentucky, & Marin county who have started harvesting groups because of the NY Times article they read. So exciting.”
Here’s a harvest in action from earlier this year when I enjoyed picking apricots through a Village Harvest program in the south bay area:
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