Even though we live surrounded by farms that produce fresh, healthy food, some Delta residents struggle to put food on their tables on a daily basis. At the same time, tonnes of edible food is thrown into Metro Vancouver landfills every year.
What if some of that potentially wasted food could be redistributed within our communities and given to those in need?
Earthwise Society is actively recruiting volunteers to help keep food out of landfills and put it into the hands of people who need it the most.
Earthwise Society is the lead agency in the Delta Food Coalition, a network of community groups working together to help decrease hunger, increase local food security and improve the overall nutritional health in the community. The coalition runs several programs that can make a real difference for Delta residents.
One of its food security initiatives is the Shared Harvest program, which reaches out to homeowners who have excess fruit in their home gardens. Earthwise coordinates volunteers to help pick the fruit, which would otherwise fall to the ground.
Some of the collected produce is shared with the homeowners and volunteers, and the rest is distributed to local families in need, ensuring that nothing goes to waste.
Through this program, thousands of pounds of fruit in Delta is harvested annually and put on the tables of needy families.
The coalition also works with the local farm community to distribute excess farm produce to those in need.
Summertime is harvest season and branches are now heavy with fruit. This means Earthwise Society needs help from the community to keep up with these programs. Fruit pickers are in high demand as are volunteer drivers to help transport boxed produce from where it is harvested to where it is needed.
Volunteers can commit as much time as they would like. If you would like to volunteer, contact Earthwise Society at [email protected] or by calling 604-946-9828.
