A good idea for hard times

[The Blue Flower]

I wasn't sure where to post this--it isn't really about frugal living. It's more about community. One of the responses to the economic devastation many are undergoing should be creation of communities of people that help one another. So here's an idea I just heard about yesterday that I think is terrific.

In King County, Washington State (Seattle area) there's a county-sponsored group that does a survey of the fruit-bearing trees in each neighborhood. Very often, homeowners have fruit trees that bear much more than they can consume and most of the crop ends up rotting on the ground. In an urban area, that translates to tons of wasted food. So they walk the neighborhoods looking for fruit trees and then talk to the homeowners. When the crop is ripe, a team of pickers goes out and harvests the fruit and takes it to food banks and other institutions in need. They harvested many, many tons of fruit this past year and many benefitted. And the homeowners didn't have to deal with the mess that rotting fruit makes.

[gateley]

1. That's wonderful -- and an excellent example of community in action.

Thanks for posting this!

(I never would have even thought of that -- kudos to those who did!)

[SmileyRose]

2. This is a great program but I'm stunned.

The very idea that anyone who's not infirm or disabled would leave produce to rot rather than get it picked, canned, perserved, passed to neighbors, sold, SOMETHING for human consumption is stunning to me. If food is still so cheap that ANYONE in this country would leave food in their own yards to rot then we Americans generally have no right to bitch about the cost of living.

I'm glad a community is doing this but geesh, shame on America for even having to NEED a program like this. You'd think people would be calling up everyone they know for a producing picking party. Wow.

[Donnachaidh]

3. In my area some would rather let it rot than give it away for free

And that has been their attitude for years. And if you ask them to allow you to harvest it for a food bank - then they tell you to get off their property. They'd rather walk through rotting fruit on their property than think of helping *those people*.

Oh, did I add that these people *claim* to be good Christians?

Nice country we've become, huh? :puke:

[SmileyRose]

4. That's worse that I thought.

I was thinking in terms of people having life so easy they don't even KNOW HOW to can preserves or dehydrate or press into cider etc. Nor would it even occur to them that all those apples, cherries, oranges, lemons, whatever have any genuine value. To me, this is just a product of people having life so easy they don't appreciate what they have.

But to understand someone who's hungry would be happy to do the work so they can eat and refuse? My god...................

[roguevalley]

11. I love to can fruit. I just ate some peaches I canned this summer.

They are my little golden bits of happiness for this winter.

[SammyWinstonJack]

6. That's just plain mean! So glad I am not a "christian".

[Uben]

5. There's more you can do!

There are 36,000 people in the small Texas county I live in. Of those, 26,000 qualify for special needs. It breaks my heart to hear our teachers tell of kids coming to school hungry and in tatters. I can just imagine what goes through these kids minds when they have to sit next to kids who are much more fortunate and wear all the latest trends, drive nice cars, etc.

And, times are getting tougher! Please, I beg of you all, take the time to drop off a bag of clothes or a bag of food at the nearest food bank, or any organization set up to help those who are less fortunate.
These people are our neighbors, our kid's friends, the people who service your car, deliver your paper, stock the shelves at your local grocery, mow your lawn, and just about everything else we take for granted, every day! Most are too proud to ask for anything because they are "surviving". The fruit tree idea is a wonderful idea.

If you are a member of a service based community organization or club, look into starting food drives, presents for the disadvantaged (Christmas will be here before you know it), or clothes drives. Government resources are drying up fast. It is up to "we, the people", to look after our own.

I just heard on the news that tips are down 25%. Waiters and waitresses work hard for their money, and they count on ther tips to get by. Few restaurants pay a decent wage, and rely on their patrons to help support their workers. Leave a little extra next time, if you can afford it.


Smiles don't cost much, and their worth is priceless.

[Jamastiene]

9. "Smiles don't cost much, and their worth is priceless."

Can I steal that? That is one of the nicest sentences I've ever seen. :thumbsup:

Btw, the rest of your post was :thumbsup: too, but that sentence just stood out as a sweet treat to me. :D

[Uben]

12. Sure you can!

If you'll promise to donate a can of food!

[nichomachus]

7. Is this trip necessary?

We're so used to jumping in the car every time the mood strikes us. We need to curb that impulse. During WW2, when gas was rationed, there were signs asking "Is this trip necessary?" We should get back to that. Gang up errands and plan your trips, instead of just hopping in the car when you feel like it. I'm as guilty as anyone, but I'm beginning to plan things so I do four or five things, instead of just one, when I take the car out.

If I have to go to the doctor, I think about what shopping I need to do and try to get that in on the way home. If I'm going to a friend's house, I think about what else I can do while I'm out -- and can I give someone a ride or ride with someone else.

[Uben]

8. I live in a rural area.....

....15 miles from town. I have been doing that for years!

[Blue Diadem]

10. Did you know they do that in rural areas? Gleaning fields of produce after harvest

is a great way to feed the hungry with perfectly good food that would otherwise rot or be plowed under.

I live in a rural area and have always griped when I see large fields containing produce that is left after the harvest. I was especially upset a few years ago when I saw acres and acres of cabbage go unharvested and left to rot. The smell was one thing, it was just sad to see thousands and thousands of heads of perfectly good cabbage waste away while there are hungry people in our world.

This year, my daughter told me about a semi truck she saw in a field being filled with baskets of produce from an already harvested field. I looked it up and it's a Christian organization operating with the help of volunteers to glean fields to feed the poor. Can you imagine how many people could be fed if all farmers participated in this program?

http://www.endhunger.org/gleaning_network.htm


Stop The Waste!

http://www.endhunger.org/stop_the_waste.htm
snip:
96 billion pounds of food are wasted each year
According to a study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, we waste 96 billion pounds of food in America each year. That turns out to be:

263,013,699 pounds of food wasted each day...
10,958,904 pounds wasted each hour...
182,648 pounds wasted each minute...
3,044 pounds of food wasted in America each second!

36 million Americans live in poverty
Each day 36 million people in the United States have to struggle to get enough food. Nearly half of these people are children. A large number are elderly. But no matter who they are or where they live or why they are impoverished, there is no excuse for anyone to go hungry in America when so much food goes to waste!