Amidst the frenzied harvesting of Italian plums, pears, and even apples, this week has marked a huge milestone for City Fruit. As of Wednesday, we have officially harvested over 100,000 pounds of fruit from Seattle private residences and public orchards since 2009. Of those 100,000 pounds, we’ve donated the best to over 40 food banks, schools, and meal access programs in Seattle.
The bulk of City Fruit’s harvest comes from community members who donate their trees to be picked during our annual harvest season. From 2009-2015, we’ve registered over 900 Seattle tree owners, and now employ three paid full-time summer harvesters. In the past two years, we’ve expanded the annual harvest from South Seattle, West Seattle, and Phinney/Greenwood to three additional neighborhoods – Wallingford, Ballard, and Northeast Seattle. It is our hope to be able to expand the harvest to more Seattle neighborhoods in the coming years.
Making it to this milestone has come with the generosity of hundreds of tree owners. It has been such a pleasure over the years getting to know so many tree owners – seeing (and tasting!) their gardens, learning a bit about the history of their trees and the neighborhood, and receiving their support during those hot August days when it would be easy to call it a day early. I have been so fortunate to have been a small part of the effort to provide healthy food for our neighbors. Thank you to all who have supported our efforts throughout the years!
Help us celebrate the harvest of 100,000 pounds in our history at our annual Cider Taste event this November. Join us for a happy hour event at Capitol Cider on September 10th from 4-6 PM to kick off Cider Taste ticket sales and taste Northwest ciders as well as appetizers made with fruit from City Fruit’s 2015 harvest!