Fruit Rescue Day and Preserving Workshop in Parkallen
On Saturday, September 11, Operation Fruit Rescue Edmonton (OFRE, pronounced "offer") will be doing a coordinated fruit-picking operation in Parkallen. OFRE is a volunteer organization that brings together yard owners with excess summer fruit and people who want to harvest it. A third of the harvested fruit goes to the
pickers, a third to the owner (if wanted), and a third is donated to the Edmonton Food Bank.
Robert Kirchner, Sustainability Coordinator for the Parkallen Community League, hopes for strong neighbourhood participation in this event, both as yard owners and as pickers. "Last year's Local Motion initiative showed that Parkallen residents care about sustainability in transportation. Here's an opportunity to extend sustainability principles to how we use our gardens and how eat. Why buy mass-produced fruit trucked in from California or Mexico while we neglect our own back-yard fruit trees? Reducing waste, eating more locally, and promoting cooperation among neighbours is a win-win situation for all parties."
If your yard has fruit that you don't have the time or energy to pick, or if it's more than you can use, please contact OFRE at 780-757-4978 (ask for Jessica), or by email at ofre@parkallen.ca. You don't have to be home when the pickers come.
If you want free fruit, fresh off the tree or bush -- or you just want an excuse to meet other community-minded neighbours, please volunteer for a picking team, by completing the on-line form at http://tiny.cc/OFRE-volunteer-form (put 'Parkallen' in the comments section so that OFRE organizers know you're planning to participate in the event on September 11 event). The organizers will get back to you with further details.
But what to do with all your fruit? The picking operation will be followed up with a fruit preserving workshop and potluck supper at the Parkallen Community Hall, beginning at 5 pm. Contact Robert Kirchner for details on what to bring, sustainability@parkallen.ca or (780) 438-2287. The workshop is open to any Parkallen residents with fruit to preserve: you don't have to have participated in the picking operation.