Until May 2014 I was the founding director of City Fruit. But that is not the reason City Fruit is at the top of my list when it comes time to donate. This is why:
A few years ago I spoke about City Fruit to a group of English-as-a Second-Language students, all of them immigrants. None of them understood why City Fruit existed. No one came from a place—not Europe, not Asia, not South America or Africa—where fruit growing in the neighborhood was allowed to fall and rot. “How could this happen?” they asked.
I didn’t know what to say. It was embarrassing. While a society with hungry people has a problem, a society that lets food go to waste in the face of that hunger has an even bigger problem. City Fruit works on many fronts to address this conundrum. It picks unused fruit and donates it to people who are hungry–28,000 pounds in 2014 alone. It teaches people about the value of their fruit and how to care for their trees. It reminds policymakers that urban fruit – and fruit trees – are a community resource. And it cares for fruit trees in our public spaces.
My donation to City Fruit pays dividends that I can see, feel, taste and smell: boxes and boxes of fresh produce delivered to food banks, shelters, daycares and senior centers. Clean sidewalks. Healthy trees. Civic pride. Please join me in making a clear difference in a simple way: Become a member of City Fruit by donating $50 (or more!) today.
Gail Savina is the founder of City Fruit and currently serves as a senior advisor to the organization.