Village Harvest began in 2001 as a volunteer project of the Foundation for Global Community, 4H Club and the Master Gardeners, combining my personal interests in  gardening, building neighborhood communities, fruit preservation, and making good use of abundant fruit.  When our first community harvest in Palo Alto yielded 1200 lbs. of citrus for the Food Bank and smiles all around, we knew we were onto something good.  That first year the phone started ringing, and  an emerging group of volunteers harvested about 5,000 lbs.  Many of those volunteers are still involved today.

After 8 years we’ve grown to become one of the oldest and largest backyard (or urban) fruit harvesting organizations, with 400 and more volunteers harvesting more than 120,000 lbs every year.  With rapidly growing numbers of volunteers, homes, and recipients, we applied Silicon Valley technology and business skills that enable us to manage the thousands of homes and volunteers that now participate.  

2. What are the greatest rewards and the greatest challenges of running this operation?

The greatest reward is seeing the mountain of fruit that is saved from dropping and put to good use after each harvest.  Then, every time I see the fruit we’ve harvested being handed out at food agency, I’m reminded of the true value of our efforts by the eager smiles of the recipients. 

 

One of my favorite reminders is of a mother who was so thankful for the oranges that were keeping her son healthy during the winter, which was keeping him in school and allowed her to be at work, adding to their income as a family.  The difference being made goes well beyond satisfying hunger in a natural and local way.  It’s making a real difference in people’s health, well-being and lives.  That’s incredibly satisfying.   

Our biggest challenge is growth - we have thousands of volunteers and homes, and seemingly can never keep up with the level of interest.  We’re expanding all over the SF Bay area, extending through Northern California.  It’s a good problem to have, but it’s still difficult as a volunteer organization.Â
   

3. Have you noticed a growing interest / need in the community for backyard gleaning?
The need has always been there, even in our prosperous area, and we’re just scratching the surface of the amount of fruit available.  The current tough economic climate has increased the number of recipients at local food agencies.

In the past year there seem to be many new harvesting organizations sprouting up, some inspired by the national publicity we received last year in The New York Times and NBC News.  We’re contacted by many and try to help nurture these efforts.  We’re responding locally by adding volunteer harvesting teams through the Bay Area and beyond.

4. How would you describe the role of Village Harvest in the community?

Village Harvest is a catalyst.  The idea is simple - there are millions of pounds of fruit going unused in local backyards, hundreds of thousands of people locally who need extra food, and so many who are willing to volunteer their time and talents to help.  Our role is to organize home and orchard owners, volunteers, and community organizations to turn this abundance of fruit and volunteer energy into nutritious food.

 

Favorite?…..  it’s so hard to choose.  Each fruit seems so perfect for the season that it’s harvested.  Oranges are so refreshing and full of Vitamin C during the winter.   Our regular volunteers love harvesting grapefruit because you canharvest so much volume in a short amount of time.  But sometimes the delight of kumquats or loquats have a high treat factor for the effort.  During the summer we have Blenheim Apricots in abundance due to the history of the valley.  Our apple season is very long starting in July and going through October, then there are Persimmons following that.  We have a crop in season nearly 365 days a year!