[p2p-research] Fwd: Sharing food: the Fruit Tree Project

[Michel Bauwens]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dante-Gabryell Monson <dante.monson at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Jul 31, 2009 at 6:00 PM
Subject: Sharing food: the Fruit Tree Project
To: hc_ecology at yahoogroups.com, sustainable_solidarity at yahoogroups.com


http://www.vcn.bc.ca/fruit/

The Vancouver Fruit Tree Project is a community-based, registered charity
that works to increase access to fresh local fruit in communities throughout
Vancouver.

We connect people who have fruit trees, people who can help harvest fruit,
and community groups that distribute the fruit or use it in their programs.

-----------------------------------------------------

http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/sharing-food-the-fruit-tree-project/2009/07/31

*" It is sad to see good food wasted, especially when people are going
hungry around us."*

David Parkinson <http://slowcoast.ca/2009/06/22/abundance-in-the-community/>
:

*“So for the last four years the Powell River Fruit Tree Project, a small
but scrappy community initiative, has been working on a next-to-zero budget
to see that as much fruit gets saved and used as possible.*

*Here’s how it works: the owner of fruit (or nut) tree who wants the fruit
harvested contacts the coordinator of the Fruit Tree Project, Anne Michaels.
Anne arranges for a team of volunteer pickers to go to the property and pick
the fruit. The standard arrangement for distributing the fruit is that
one-third goes to the pickers, one-third to the owner of the tree, and
one-third to a local food pantry or other charitable organization to be
distributed to those in need. But that arrangement is flexible, since
sometimes the owner of the tree is happy simply to have the fruit picked and
taken away, if only to reduce the risk of having a bear come and do it.*

*Anne is working hard to see this project expand. She is hoping that the
Community Resource Centre in Powell River will be home to some
fruit-preserving workshops and work parties this year. One of the
difficulties in past years has been that the charitable organizations
struggle to give away fresh fruit during the summer months, and there has
been no way in previous years to can, freeze, or dry the harvested fruit so
that it can be stored and distributed year-round. Now that the Community
Resource Centre has a fully operational and inspected kitchen, the Fruit
Tree Project can use that kitchen to preserve fruit for later use. Anne is
planning to dehydrate a lot of the harvested fruit, in the hopes that dried
fruit and fruit leather will be a product that can bring a little money into
this perpetually cash-strapped project.*

*Anne also talks about expanding the project to take in more than just tree
crops. What if we could arrange for crews of gleaners to swoop in when
homeowners have more lettuce, beans, or (most likely) zucchini than they
know what to do with? What if those crews could be sure that this fresh
local food could get to those in need, via local soup kitchens or food
pantries? And what if enough money (or another form of exchange) could flow
through this project to pay for a coordinator, for some equipment, or for
the use of the kitchen facilities?*

*What if there were a whole regional network of gardens producing food which
could be assured of not going to waste, because all homeowners knew that the
community gleaning team were just a phone call away? If the volunteers could
be paid either in gathered food or in some other form, such as a local
food-backed currency which could be exchanged at any time and not just
during the time of harvest? What if more people in the community were able
to learn the skills involved in safely preparing and preserving the summer
harvest against the long cold wet winter months?*

*And what if all of this activity were generating true economic value? How
could it not? This would be food produced in the region by people who live
here, harvested and shared among other people in the region, producing jobs
and stores of food for anyone willing to work.”*




-- 
Work: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhurakij_Pundit_University - Research:
http://www.dpu.ac.th/dpuic/info/Research.html - Think thank:
http://www.asianforesightinstitute.org/index.php/eng/The-AFI

P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net  - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net

Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss:
http://listcultures.org/mailman/listinfo/p2presearch_listcultures.org

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