About Village Harvest

Village Harvest is a nonprofit volunteer organization in Santa Clara Valley, California, which brings together neighbors and community organizations to provide food for the hungry, preserve our agricultural heritage and skills, and promote sustainable use of urban resources.

A backyard fruit tree usually produces far more fruit than a household can use themselves, and there is more than enough going to waste from our own backyards and farms to provide for our local community’s hungry. Village Harvest addresses this food distribution problem by organizing volunteer teams to harvest backyard fruit and donate it to charitable food agencies and organizations, by educating homeowners on fruit tree care and harvesting, and by providing education on food preservation such as making jams and preserves from home-grown fruit.

Village Harvest is an IRS 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and donations received are tax-deductible.  The organization is a California Public Benefit Corporation organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes, incorporated in March 2002. 

We work with...

• Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties
• Plant-a-Row for the Hungry, San Jose Mercury News & Garden Writer's Association
• Valley of Heart's Delight, a project of the Foundation for Global Community in Palo Alto
• UCCE Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County
• Common Ground Garden Center in Palo Alto
• ... full list

Activities

• Backyard Fruit Harvesting and Harvesting Coordination.  VH organizes and coordinates volunteer harvesting teams to pick fruit and distribute it directly to community charitable organizations. We maintain computerized lists of homeowners who call and ask for help harvesting their trees, of volunteers interested in assisting, and of organizations who are able to redistribute the donated fruit to people in need.
• Homeowner Education and Information.  VH provides information and referrals at no charge on fruit tree care, harvesting instruction, and where to take their excess fruit. VH maintains a list of local organizations who accept and use fruit (or vegetables) directly from homeowners, and we encourage homeowners who are physically capable of harvesting their own fruit to do so.
• Food Preservation Education and Resources.  VH volunteers provide training sessions, tastings, and recipes on using home-grown fruit to create jams and other preserved foods.  Educational sessions have been held for both adults and for younger volunteers such as 4H clubs.  Volunteers use a small quantity of donated fruit to make preserves which are sold at crafts fairs and other nonprofit organizations to raise funds.

History and Accomplishments

Village Harvest activities were begun in 2001 as volunteer projects of the local 4H Club and the Master Gardeners, then formally incorporated in March 2002 because of broad community and volunteer interest.  Village Harvest is a volunteer-run organization, with nearly 200 volunteers contributing their time and talents in harvesting, preserving, and education.  Volunteer leaders are Joni Diserens, Executive Director and founder, and Robin Root, harvesting coordinator.

• In 2003, VH volunteers harvested over 84,000 pounds of fruit donated directly to Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara County and related food agencies, from over 300 homes.   Our 2002 volunteer harvest total was 37,000 pounds.
• We coordinate approximately 10 harvesting events per month, with over 200 volunteers participating and over 400 homes which have been harvested or requested harvesting assistance.

Funding

Village Harvest is currently funded through private donations from the public and from sales of preserves made by volunteers.  Because of rapid and high growth, we are actively seeking additional support to offset expenses and to expand into other local communities with additional volunteer teams.