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Bountiful Harvest Seeks Volunteers to Help Pick Fruit for the Food Bank

Written by KEYT Assignment Desk

Story Created: Sep 9, 2010 at 3:33 PM PST

Story Updated: Sep 10, 2010 at 10:33 AM PST

Don't let the extra fruit from your backyard trees go to waste.

Local volunteers will come out to pick it and get it right to the Santa Barbara County Food Bank for those in need.

The program is called "Backyard Bounty" and it is able to take your fresh fruit and give it right away to those in the community on a limited income.

All the fresh fruit that comes in is sent out to needy families within 24 hours.

As for the quantity, those involved say, "it's all over the county."

"We're really just scratching the surface in terms of the available food out there," said Doug Hagensen the program manager. "But before we can capture all that food the biggest challenge we face is finding the
right number of volunteers."

Volunteer Natalie Gutierrez says she sees the benefits," and knowing that people at the Foodbank and the community are getting things that are really good and especially not eating processed food."

When the program began three years ago Jim Roehrig said he thought it would be something he did on Saturday's. "Now I do this five days a week
and we've harvested 330 thousand pounds of fresh produce. I have yet to have anyone point out how this does not work."

Property owner Ron Lloyd has 22 avocado trees. Not enough for a commercial processing company to come by and pick, but just enough for the Backyard Bounty program. "For the first pick, they got a thousand pounds off of one tree," said Lloyd. And there were still some leftovers. "I was shocked. You know I would come back after the first pick and I would go out and wonder if there is anything left. There was plenty left."

The Backyard Bounty program has an urgent need for volunteers this Saturday September 11th to help pick what they say is 30-thousand pounds of oranges donated by a local resident.

If you would like to help, contact Doug Hagensen, Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, at doug@foodbanksbc.org or
805 284-5407
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