Harvesting All Around

Here's a neat idea:

How often do you go for a walk and notice fruit lying around on the sidewalk? People have lots of fruit trees but let so much of it go to waste. I've always felt somewhat guilty about it, but I always "steal" a few lemons that are on the ground of a certain house I pass on my walk. Now someone has turned it into a business.

Natasha Boissier and a group of friends have started harvesting trees in Berkeley. She provides the equipment and the workers and they'll come to your house and clear your trees. The food is donated to homeless shelters, school districts, and food kitchens.

This is a great community service. I'm jealous because I've thought of doing something similar, but I didn't know how to start. I'd like to go a step further and be able to process the fruit, too. If it can't be used, then make it into a sauce or pie filling or something that can be canned and sit on someone's shelf for a while. That would be useful to a family, too!

We need these trees in our cities. It's so essential to have this food growing right in front of us. But we need to be aware of it and not let it go to waste. So if you're in the BayArea and have a tree or two or three, call North Berkeley Harvest at 510-812-3369.

And if you're interested in preserving some of that fruit for yourself, give me a call. We'll work something out!