WONDERMINUTE (September 2010)

 …they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore; but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid Micah 4:3-4

 

Photo: Cadland, flickr.com

     Let your mind wander around a mental map of town and odds are that you can summon the location of at least one residential fruit tree that goes unharvested year-after-year. The summer 2010 issue of Urban Farm magazine highlights the work of California resident Anna Chan, known in her community as The Lemon Lady. Chan’s mission is to harvest local, unpicked residential fruit and to put it into the hands of those persons in her community for whom fresh fruit is unaffordable. In her first year of harvesting, Chan gleaned an estimated $90,000 worth of fruit which she donated to local food pantries. Growers at area farmer’s markets were happy to add to the cause their unsold produce after market-day sales had ended. Chan cites community networking, respect and gratitude as the things that grease the wheels of her efforts.
    From a wellness perspective, fruit juice alone does not provide the same nutrients nor fiber that fresh fruits provide. “Juice drinks” are another story altogether, wherein subsidized corn is turned into high fructose corn syrup and blended with water, coloring, flavorings and generally small percentages of actual fruit juice. It’s a difference between “energy-dense” (i.e., high-calorie) and “nutrient-dense” foods; with energy-dense foods being far cheaper in the short-term for the family on a tight budget. Consider how you might work to make fresh, whole foods available to families in need in our community by asking to harvest a neighbor’s fruit tree or supporting efforts to expand community gardens.

See Grist Online, “How the feds make bad-for-you food cheaper than healthful fare”