Canada: Fruitful partnership aims to deliver fresh picked produce to community organizations.
Vancouver Fruit Tree Project: Since 1999, we have harvested over 72,000 lbs of fruit in Vancouver
By Farah Motani
Vancouver Fruit Tree Project Coordinator
Sept 2020
VFTP is a volunteer-run registered charity that has been tackling local food waste and food insecurity since 1999. We harvest surplus backyard fruit for redistribution to those experiencing barriers to accessing fresh produce. Our volunteers go to tree owners homes and pick as much fruit as we can!
We provide the tree owner and volunteers with a portion of the harvest and the rest goes to one of our 12 community partners to be used in their programming. Our mission is to celebrate the bounty of the urban orchard, aid inclusive food networks and cultivate community. In the past 20 years we’ve rescued over 72,000 pounds of fruit, and redistributed them to different organizations including community centres, food hubs, daycares, shelters and more. We also offer pruning services and host educational workshops for our community members.
This season we have teamed up with Vancouver Food Runners for a new kind of food delivery service. Unused fruit from backyard fruit trees is picked by VFTP volunteers and the Vancouver Food Runners deliver it to local organizations serving those in need.
“It was a natural partnership”, says the VFTP’s Coordinator, Farah, “We’re now able to more efficiently share the thousands of pounds of fruit we pick each season with those who are hungry.”
The global pandemic has highlighted the shortcomings in our food systems and this new partnership helps reduce food waste and increase access to healthy local food.
To get involved and learn more about us, please check out our website “here”.
