As we enter this year’s harvest season, City Fruit is busy planning for our signature pop-up stands that directly serve community members fresh, local, and free fruit. Fruit-4-All’s, an annual food-distribution program that City Fruit hosts each summer throughout Seattle neighborhoods, are intended to offer local residents access to fruit that’s being grown in their very own neighborhoods and nearby public orchards.
Being a food justice organization, one of our main goals is to bridge the gap between individuals and access to healthy, affordable, and relevant foods. With inflation’s effects on food prices across the country, we recognize how important our role is in combating these barriers for Seattle residents. Our Fruit-4-All stands are for anyone and everyone to enjoy the fruits of the local harvest, serving as a resource for folks who might just need to grab extra groceries to last them for the week ahead and for families and others who may just want to enjoy fresh fruit that day. Everyone’s situation is different, and we want to meet them wherever they are in their capacity to enjoy healthy and local fruit. Last year, more than 1,400 neighbors visited 20 of our Fruit-for-Alls and took home 1,700 pounds of fruit that included plums, apples, pears, figs, grapes, blueberries, and more!
We host Fruit-4-All’s at community centers, farmer’s markets, and P-Patch gardens around Seattle, aiming to host at least one pop-up in each region of the city to ensure we’re reaching as many community members as possible, usually in the early evening or weekend hours. The fruit is given out on a first-come first-served basis (though become a member today and you can reserve a portion ahead of time!), and is presorted to ensure high quality, though sometimes baking and jamming fruit may also be offered. We aim to package servings ahead of time to make it easier for folks to grab and take home servings, and to ensure we evenly distribute available fruit. Our partnership with Ridwell has allowed us to take in second-hand produce containers and re-use them to package fruit for distribution to our food bank and meal program partners, as well as at our pop-ups!
A part of our mission as an environmental organization is to ensure that we’re being as sustainable as we can in our efforts to connect community and local fruit. With all fruit that we harvest, we aim to distribute no more than 2 miles of where it was harvested from, so that it not only is going to the residents that the fruit is closest to, but also to ensure that we’re not increasing our carbon footprint by driving longer distances around the city. If you’re interested in knowing more about our partnerships and where we harvest, take a look at our list of community partners and partner orchards.
Our 2023 Fruit-4-All schedule is coming soon! Stay tuned for dates and locations
For inquiries about our Fruit-4-All program, please reach out to Bennett at [email protected].