Volunteers with the program are getting some down-time due to the fact there are very few apricots this year.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED- Kamlops Food Policy Council
July 15, 2019 - 6:00 PM
KAMLOOPS - Volunteers with the Kamloops Food Policy Council harvested over 1,800 pounds of cherries this season.
The cherries were picked through the Gleaning Abundance program, where residents can register fruit trees to be harvested by volunteers.
The fruits collected are then distributed to the homeowners, volunteers, and donated to various local charities.
“The model we work on is one third for the homeowner, one third to the volunteers, one third for donations,” Sandra Frangiadakis, food action lead with the Kamloops Food Policy Council, says. She adds that often the homeowners don’t want any of the fruit, which makes for a surplus of donations.
The harvested fruit goes to programs such as the Kamloops Food Bank, the St. Vincent De Paul Society, New Life Mission, and the Elizabeth Fry Society, to name a few. This year, the program harvested from 16 trees and donated cherries to 18 organizations, according to Frangiadakis.
The cherries picked near the end of the harvest were slightly damaged by recent rain, as rain splits the fruit. Damaged cherries are donated to local farmers to feed their animals, according to Frangiadakis.
Frangiadakis says that the hefty cherry haul has been offset by the lack of other fruits, such as apricots.
“Usually, before we finish cherries we are going crazy with apricots. We have people calling us daily to come and pick their apricots, but there are no apricots in Kamloops this year,” Frangiadakis says.
Apricots are in short supply this year due to a cold snap that hit in February, according to Frangiadakis. The buds were damaged by the winter weather, leaving an apricot shaped gap in this summer’s harvest.
“We are experiencing a big lull right now in what is usually our busiest time because of the lack of apricots this year,” she says.
She adds that there is one tree in Kamloops which survived the cold snap.
“I know of one tree in the whole city that has apricots. It’s one of the latest trees in the city for apricots and its kind of protected, so maybe the buds weren't starting to grow when we got that cold snap in February,” she says.
Frangiadakis says that apricots aren’t the only fruit that Kamloops is lacking this year. She notes that peaches, early plums, and some other fruits are also in short supply this year.
“Usually we’d be harvesting apricots about now, and after that is early plum, pear, apples, and grapes,” she says. “Our busiest time will have a big lull. If anyone does have fruit right now that they would like help picking and like to share, that would be awesome.”
If you have a fruit tree in your yard that needs harvesting and you’re willing to share the haul, you can register your tree here.
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News from © iNFOnews, 2019