Don’t let summer fruit go to waste

Community Fruit Harvesting is asking people in the Wellington region with unwanted plums and other summer fruit in their back gardens to get in touch so the charity can pick the fruit for the hungry.

The group collects fresh fruit and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste and gives it to charities who share it with people in need. Plums and berries are currently in season, with nectarines, peaches, apricots, feijoas, figs, quinces, crab apples, grapes, guavas tamarillos and early season apples and pears ripening in the next few months. Community Fruit Harvesting Wellington covers Wellington City, Hutt Valley, Porirua and the Kapiti regions.

“We distribute the fruit to more than 25 Wellington charities through Kaibosh food rescue,” says Julie Harris, Wellington Community Fruit Harvesting co-ordinator. “The unwanted fruit in people’s back yards is a valuable source of fresh food and it makes so much sense to donate it instead of letting it rot on the ground. Just before Christmas we picked a bumper crop of 52kg of lemons from just one tree in Kapiti.

“For those wanting to come and find out more about Community Fruit Harvesting in person, we’ll have a stall at the Island Bay Festival on Sunday 16 February,” says Julie. “We’ll also be back for a second year at the Sustainable Home and Garden Show in Kapiti on 22-23 March.”

As well as calling for people to register their fruit trees, Community Fruit Harvesting is looking for fruit picking volunteers who are able to help pick on weekends and for volunteers who can make jam with excess fruit. To register a tree or volunteer contact Julie Harris on pickfruitnthwellington@gmail.com or 027 240 6606 or via Facebook, www.facebook.com/pickfruitwellington.

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