VILLAGE HARVEST Volunteer Newsletter, July 13, 2003

• Dress in layers with long sleeves and comfortable shoes... Long sleeves are to protect your arms from branches. Bring gloves and hand pruners if you prefer to use them.
• Be prepared to drive or carpool... If you have a large car or truck, it's always appreciated
• Feel free to bring a bag/box to take home fruit for yourself. Tree ripened fruit from Santa Clara Valley... it doesn't get any better than this!

To celebrate, we're having a free Village Harvest Preserve Tasting and Fruit Tree Clinic by the Master Gardeners.  The Master Gardener's can answer all of your questions about how to grow fruit, and Village Harvest can answer all of your questions about what to do with all the fruit. 

What:       VH Preserve Tasting and MG Fruit Tree Clinic
Where:     Common Ground, 559 College Avenue, Palo Alto
When:      Saturday, July 19th
                12:00pm - 4:00pm

HARVESTING SUMMER ORCHARDS: Update

Thank you for all of you who wrote about how the apricots with scab are still edible.  Yes, a little scab has not been known to hurt anyone.  But, it's not something that we wanted spread around the valley nor wanting to explain to the thousands of people receiving the fruit.  

There is so much food out there to be had, and to prove the point, as soon as we cancelled the Guadalupe Orchard, in comes and even larger orchard.  And...  We did it!  All 150 apricot trees in Los Altos Hills.  Thank you for such a great response and at the last minute too.  You guys are the best!

Here's the updated list of summer orchards.  Please RSVP for the dates you can join us.

• FRIDAY, JULY 11th, Apricots in Los Altos Hills (150 trees) - Done!
  Even after eating our fill, we harvested 759 lbs for the Second Harvest Food Bank.
• SATURDAY, JULY 12th, Apricots in Guadalupe Park (50 trees) - Cancelled
  So sorry, but this year's apricot's are scarred and unappetizing.  Maybe next year.
• SATURDAY, AUGUST 16th, French Plums, Hitachi, 5600 Cottle Road, San Jose (200+ trees).  8:30am - 12:30pm
  Great event for families and children.
• TUESDAY, AUGUST 19th, French Plums, Guadalupe Historic Orchard, San Jose (50 trees).  8:30am - 12:30pm.
  Lunch provided.  Meet at the Historic Orchard in Guadalupe Park.  Click here for map. 
  Great event for families and children.
• SATURDAY, AUGUST 23rd, French Plums, location TBA,  8:30am - 12:30pm
  Great event for families and children.

Remember that the best tasting, tree ripened fruit goes home with the volunteers, as it will be too ripe to go through distribution at the Second Harvest Food Bank. Perfect for people who like to make preserves. All dates subject to change based upon ripening and weather.

TOMATO WEDNESDAYS

• Ever wonder where those tomatoes in the market come from?
• Want to get a hands on experience of large commercial agriculture?

Nearly every week in the summer, the Second Harvest Food Bank goes to pick up nearly 10,000 lbs of tomatoes from the market tomato processing plant in French Camp in the Central Valley.  8-10 volunteers are needed to help load the tomatoes into the bins for their trip back to the Food Bank.  If you're interested in getting a behind the scene's view of local agriculture and help glean a heck of a lot of tomatoes for the hungry, come on out!

When:    Most Wednesdays during the summer
              8:00am - 2:00pm
Where:   SHFB Volunteer Room, 750 Curtner Avenue, San Jose
Contact:  Manuel Bravo, SHFB, 408.266.8866 x240