I've found myself getting increasingly passionate about working to make sure surplus homegrown fruit and vegetables get put to use. I guess it all started with setting up Piopio's Community Fruit & Veg Stand and being part of this initiative around the country. Seeing what people are happy to share with others, what people are happy to take, and also what might otherwise go to waste.
This year I've gone on a bit of a crusade in the wider area about citrus fruit seen dripping from trees in yards. I've put the word out via social media and our local paper to people who have surplus to take it somewhere where it can be used and enjoyed! This week I found myself jumping into the deep end of the pool: I knocked on a few doors in nearby Te Awamutu and Kihikihi where I noticed trees in yards with fruit dropped on the ground, and asked if I might pick a bag of tangelos or oranges to share with our community. Two houses didn't answer, but three said yes! I met a lovely man named Gary in Kihikihi whose front yard consists of three citrus trees I've been eyeing for some time. And of course I didn't go overboard, leaving quite a bit on the trees for the residents and others.
So yesterday I came home from my errands with three bags of beautiful fruit for the stand. I also stopped by the Te Awamutu Courier offices and asked them to put the word out to residents with surplus citrus to take it somewhere, anywhere to be put to use: the local Sharing Shed or Community Stand, food bank, nursing home or elder housing. I also offered to help pick it or find someone else who could if someone wasn't able to do so.
I'm thinking I need to keep going with this. It feels like the right thing to do.
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