I was able to catch one of the few winter harvests from HarvestCROPS. What this organization does is gather a group of volunteers to harvest fruit from local residents and donate the fruit to low-income families. Fresh fruit and vegetables can be difficult for low-income families to have because they can be quite expensive at grocery stores. What's great about this process is that it benefits all groups that are included. The local residents get a tax deduction, their yard cleaned, and a good feeling that their fruit is not going to waste. The low-income families get fresh fruit on their table at no cost. And the volunteers are left knowing that they've helped their community. The organization has donated over 200,000 lb. of fruit since starting in 2009.
The harvest for the day was picking oranges from a resident in Lemon Grove. In a single harvest, we easily picked over 100lb of fruit. This was a unique volunteer experience for me because of how small the group was but I felt like our small group of just four people made an impact on many. Knowing that I was able to put a nice little sweet-treat on someone’s table made this a great experience for me. I will definitely be looking out for more opportunities with HarvestCROPS in the future.