Volunteers pick oranges from orchard tree
Posted: June 4, 2025

In early May we finished our largest harvest series of the year: a total of 13 harvests on Thursday evenings, weekend mornings, and one Friday from March 27 through May 4. Over these 6 weeks nearly 350 volunteers picked and donated a total of 115,992 pounds of delicious navel oranges to Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, which distributed the oranges to local community food agencies. Tens of thousands of community members in need benefited from our efforts together.

That's a huge bounty of fruit and community spirit!

The "Giant Orange Orchard" is a navel orange orchard in North San Jose filled with 1,500 trees, a 14 acre island of the Valley's agricultural past surrounded by the tech companies and apartments of modern Silicon Valley. The farm family has owned the land for 108 years, and since they found Village Harvest in 2018 they have donated their crop to Second Harvest of Silicon Valley to help our community. Since the collaboration began we have picked and donated an astounding total of 800,000 pounds.

The family works hard too, driving farm tractors with special trailers that make it possible for volunteers to harvest as much as 21,000 pounds in a morning. One of the continuing highlights is getting to harvest together with the 3rd generation family owner (Bob), the 4th generation (Andrew and Amanda), and the 5th generation (Andrew and Amanda's young children).

For more on this story of generosity and sharing, please read the article by volunteer Vikki Bowes-Mok on the family history and the collaboration that makes this special --  The Sweetest Gift: San Jose Oranges Nourish Thousands Thanks to Local Heroes.

Holding a series of events like this takes community effort, time, and resources. We're grateful for the good spirits and hard work of hundreds of the many people who made these harvests possible:

  • Nearly 350 harvesting volunteers, who brought their community spirit, family, and friends.
  • 23 of Village Harvest's volunteer leaders who stepped up to sustain 13 harvests
  • Groups from companies and service organizations; families and friends who volunteered together; and all our new and returning harvest volunteers.
  • Farm family and staff: owner Bob continuing to support the harvests, donating the fruit; family members Andrew and Amanda and their children; and long time farm staff member Jose driving tractors
  • Village Harvest staff members Megan, Tracy, Susan, and Craig
  • Our partners at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, with special mention to food resources coordinator Emily who arranged twice a week truck deliveries and pickups over the 6 weeks, and the many Second Harvest and food partner agency folks who distributed the oranges to tens of thousands of people in our area who need healthy food.

THANKS and gratitude to all.