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If you have fruit trees that produce more than you can use, and you live in the South Bay, then I hope you will register your tree(s) with Village Harvest<\/a>. But if you live elsewhere, or would just like to join a more informal network of fruit sharers, then check out Neighborhood Fruit<\/a>. While groups like Forage Oakland<\/a> and Food Forward<\/a> down in SoCal are putting together regional networks of backyard and public-tree fruit sharers, Neighborhood Fruit seems to be trying to provide a place for a national registry that one could search by zip code.<\/p>\n Picking with Village Harvest has really sharpened my fruit vision. I happen to live in an area that is particularly blessed in its soil and climate, but its hard to convey just how much backyard fruit goes to waste. I’ve heard numerous people express surprise that backyard fruit can be eaten at all; it’s a sad statement about our food system that there are so many that think that, if it doesn’t come from the grocery store, it’s inedible. <\/p>\n Gleaning helps everyone. Homeowners avoid a big cleanup headache, volunteers have a great morning outdoors and take home perfectly-ripe fruit, and the hungry enjoy fresh produce that would be too expensive for food pantries to buy. But I’m also happy about the neighbor-to-neighbor sharing promoted by Neighborhood Fruit. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"