Join us on a local Valley Center grove from 9am - 11:30am on Monday - Thursday mornings year around! This volunteer opportunity is for people of all ages and gets you out with the butterflies and bees, picking citrus by hand or with a picker pole and preparing it for transport.
This position is influential in actively gleaning healthy produce for San Diego’s food insecure and preventing this excess fruit from going to waste. Volunteers learn how to utilize picking poles to reach fruit and become part of the solution through community-driven work.
Experience firsthand the tactical aspect of food recovery principles and become an ambassador of sustainable food systems.
Volunteers are asked to wear sturdy shoes as well as bring a water bottle. You will be provided with necessary equipment and orientation at local grove in Valley Center.
Sign up directly on our website https://producegood.volunteerhub.com/. Once you sign up as a volunteer you can register for available events in our calendar. Choose a date and location that works best for you. Please note you must register and sign a waiver to join us.
Sharing has never been sweeter!
For more info please contact Community Orchard Program Lead, Kait Cole at producegood.kait@gmail.com.
Check out our YouTube Page below if you would like to view our work!
To build an informed and engaged community committed to finding sustainable solutions to alleviate hunger, reclaim and re-purpose waste and promote the health and well- being of all.
Description
In San Diego county, 1 in 5 people struggles with hunger on a daily basis and 10% of the total population lacks consistent access to nourishing, fresh food. On average, 40% of fresh produce is plowed under, rots or goes to waste each year. By harvesting the extra bounty of San Diego county and delivering to those in need, we are solving the problem of hunger and waste in one sweet step.
ProduceGood's flagship program, CropSwap, coordinates groups of volunteers (individuals and organizations) to glean excess produce from backyard orchards in San Diego County. As of June 2016, we have harvested nearly 90,000 pounds of citrus, equal to 270,000 healthy servings of food, using Feeding America San Diego, the San Diego Food Bank and the North County Food Bank to collect and distribute the food throughout San Diego County.
We are a part of the Leichtag Foundation Commons in Encinitas, a leader in North County’s sustainability and zero waste movement. This Coastal Roots Farm community connects people to each other--the land, healthy food and food justice and we are proud to have been chosen as a Hub member, receiving this space as a gift-in-kind. Our memberships in organizations such as the San Diego Food System Alliance, our partners with nonprofits such as Kitchens For Good, and our generous donations from companies and nonprofits are enabling us to achieve our mission by working with like-minded individuals and groups.
