Quimper Community Harvest is looking for volunteers to help pick some fruit and feed the community.
“I’m a scavenger, so this is fun,” said Seth Rolland, a local wood worker who started the group of fruit pickers in 2008.
“I like free food, and I really like the idea of getting local, organic food to people who might otherwise not have access to it.”
Rolland and his group of 30-or-so volunteers is taking part in the practice of gleaning — pulling fruit from the trees of orchards after pickers have taken their share.
They then take the produce to local food banks, schools and other nonprofits in the area who feed the community.
“It’s a funny concept, because it’s hard for some people to get or afford fruit like this, despite the fact that it’s falling on the ground and rotting throughout the county,” he said.
“Those are the two aspects of this idea that I like: rescuing and salvaging food that would otherwise go to waste, and getting healthy, local food to people that otherwise wouldn’t have access to it.”
In 2008, the group picked more than 5,400 pounds of fruit including apples, pears, plums, cherries and figs. Their goal was just 1,000 pounds.
“We broke that by a bit,” Rolland said, laughing.
“This year, we won’t set a goal except to pick as much as we absolutely can.”
Quimper Community Harvest is looking for new volunteers as they prepare for the summer and fall harvest.
Rolland said in addition to gleaning fruit, volunteers monitor trees for ripeness, transport ladders and other tools, deliver fruit to community organizations and lead teams of gleaners.
“So we are looking for help,” Rolland said.
“It’s a fun time and it’s a great community event to get together and help.”
This year, the group will also glean vegetables, meaning even more volunteers are needed.
In the first week of gleaning at Red Dog Farm in Chimacum, Cathie Wier and AmeriCorps volunteer Cali Keck gleaned 58 pounds of lettuce, spinach and chard for distribution through the Tri-Area Food Bank.
“Gleaning makes use of resources that would otherwise not be utilized,” Weir said.
“The rows we gleaned were going to be tilled under later that day.”
For more information on Quimper Community Harvest, phone 360-385-3581 or e-mail cathiew@eusers.com.
Keck said along with volunteers, the group is looking for new trees to glean, donations of sturdy orchard ladders and apple pickers or monetary donations to purchase new equipment.
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Reporter Erik Hidle can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at erik.hidle@peninsuladailynews.com.
