Unwanted local fruit a food bank boon
Volunteers collect surplus harvest donated by Cambridge tree owners
CAMBRIDGE — Apples, pears and cherries aren’t typical foods you think of when considering donations to your local food bank.
That’s why Siobhan Bonisteel wanted to try something new.
She found local fruit tree owners who didn’t use all of the fruit their trees produced and collected the unwanted fruit with the help of volunteers for the Cambridge SelfHelp Food Bank.
The process is called gleaning. It’s an old tradition of collecting leftovers from a farmer’s harvest. Volunteers help out and then split the bounty.
“It’s certainly not a new concept, but using it for a food bank is new,” Bonisteel, the food bank’s community garden co-ordinator, said. “If there is extra food, if able, that food is shared.”
Bonisteel started the fruit tree program last summer and hopes to attract more fruit tree owners who are willing to donate their unwanted produce.
She already helps co-ordinate harvests of fresh produce grown at three community gardens in Cambridge. Since 2014, 13,000 pounds of fresh food has been donated to the food bank.
“I’ve watched this local fresh food movement grow over the years. It really has the power to change people,” Bonisteel said.
Even though most food banks love fresh food, it’s a fairly new idea. Bonisteel said there are still misconceptions around what can be donated to food banks. Donation bins at grocery stores are not equipped to collect fresh food. Lots of food banks may also not have enough personnel or refrigerators to handle fresh items.
Fresh fare like kale, Swiss chard and tomatoes are healthy and nutritious and fruit is often missing for people who use food banks.
“Certainly, part of it is a lack of awareness of the lack of fresh food,” Bonisteel said. “We need to do better as a community.” But things are looking up in Cambridge. “The Cambridge Self-Help Food Bank is really progressive,” Bonisteel added.
Volunteers recently planted 75 different fruit trees and bushes at the food bank’s largest community garden at the Rare eco reserve in Blair. In a few years, those yields will bring in even more fresh food to the local food bank.
Right now, the new program collects fruit from five trees each season. Last year, 250 pounds of fresh fruit was collected for the food bank.
Bonisteel hopes to find more local tree owners with fruit to spare.
“We need communities to bring in that fresh portion,” she added.
She asked the city for help in creating a fruit tree registry to make it easier for people to offer up their unwanted fruit.
People interested in donating a fruit tree or volunteering with the food bank’s gardens or gleaning program can contact Bonisteel at gardens@cambridgefoodbank.on.ca or prestoncommunitygarden@hotmail.com.
It’s certainly not a new concept, but using it for a food bank is new. SIOBHAN BONISTEEL