Solid Ground’s Lettuce Link program are looking for volunteers for the Community Fruit Tree Harvest this summer. The program has been running since 2005 and is one of thirty run by Solid Ground throughout Seattle in an effort to build a community free of poverty.
“We organize teams of volunteers to harvest fruit from a list of fruit tree donors around North Seattle. We then donate this fruit to emergency meal programs, food banks, and summer meal sites in the community,” writes harvest coordinator Mariah Pepper. “We bring together people who may not have volunteered before, but are passionate about healthy trees and sharing fruit,” Pepper continues.
Lettuce Link are currently recruiting both for volunteers for harvesting and tree owners for donations. Many opportunities are available for locals to get involved in the program.
In terms of harvest volunteers Lettuce Link need people who can do one or more of the following:
- Scout trees ahead of time to see if the fruit is ripe
- Harvest fruit at scheduled work parties and/or on an on-call basis
- Provide garage space for storing ladders, picking buckets and/or fruit
- Deliver fruit to food banks or meal programs
- Host a fruit-oriented social for a neighborhood harvest crew, such as a canning, baking, or preserve-making party
If you are interested in donating fruit from your trees contact Seattle Tilth’s Garden Hotline at (206) 633-0224 or email help@gardenhotline.org. If you are interested in volunteering as a harvester click here to download an application form.
For more details about the program check out the flyer (pictured) or contact Mariah at mariahp@solid-ground.org.