The Unforbidden Fruit
The age-old practice of gleaning has taken an urban twist in Toronto, where Not Far From the Tree, a local not-for-profit, harvests fruit from backyards across the city. The gleaners are volunteers, armed with cargo bikes, ladders, pruners, baskets and a sweet tooth, eager to divert a fraction of the estimated 1.5 million pounds of fruit that this “urban orchard” produces per year. They’re not collecting the unwanted leftovers; rather, they’re collaborating with the trees owners to ensure that their backyard abundance of fruit doesn’t go to waste. Last year, their best harvest yet, Not Far From the Tree’s pickers reaped 20,000 pounds of fruit: Apples, pears, plums, cherries and mulberries were just a few of the season’s edibles that didn’t return to the earth on their watch. One of the organization’s unique features is the way it divides up the spoils: one-third goes to the homeowners, one-third to the pickers and one-third to local food banks, shelters and community kitchens.
Like the best ideas, Not Far From the Tree’s model has been embraced in other cities, from Auckland, New Zealand to Argyll, Scotland to Atlanta, Georgia. And there are plenty of other like-minded organizations around the U.S. Backyard Harvest of Moscow, Idaho has registered more than 500 residential fruit trees, berry patches and grapevines in its area, and through various gleaning, gathering and growing programs has distributed more than 100,000 pounds of food to families in need. In addition, City Fruit of Seattle and Village Harvest of San Francisco, are focused on gleaning edibles from public spaces rather than residential lots.
Fallen Fruit, based in Los Angeles and more of a collective of artists than gleaners, pioneered a mapping project for public fruit. In black and white and boasting the slogan “learn your fruits,” these maps not only connect people to free food in public spaces but also to nature in the city. Another Fallen Fruit project is “Neighborhood Infusions,” in which spirits are infused with fruit picked from a certain street or area in an effort to capture its essence—literally and figuratively.
Whether the goal of these 21st century urban gleaners is sustainable living, self-sufficiency in uncertain times, reconnecting with nature or something else entirely, it all sounds like delicious summertime fun, doesn’t it?
Image: Fallen Fruit fruit map
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