City Fruit Expands to Ballard – Volunteers Needed
Urban fruit trees are a valuable community resource. Often fruit goes unused because people are not sure when to harvest it, how to eat it, or they are put off by damage caused by preventable disease and pests. City Fruit is reclaiming the urban orchard, showing people how to harvest and use what they need, and to share the rest with others.
City Fruit promotes the cultivation of urban fruit in order to nourish people, build community and protect the climate. They help tree owners grow healthy fruit, provide assistance in harvesting and preserving fruit, promote the sharing of extra fruit, and work to protect urban fruit trees.
This year, City Fruit is adding the Wallingford and Ballard neighborhoods. Last year they brought in 10,017 pounds of unused fruit from residential properties in south Seattle/Beacon Hill, West Seattle and the Phinney-Greenwood neighborhoods. They donated most of it to food banks and meals programs and sold a portion of it to restaurants and others.
Volunteers are needed to help glean fruit. If you are interested, check out City Fruit’s Idealist page.