This past week Les Fruits Défendus, the urban fruit harvesting collective, had its most successful week of 2015. The collective harvested 1138 lbs of fruits in just 8 days from all over the city (Cote des Neiges, Ahuntsic, Rosemont, Villeray, Plateau Mont Royal, Mercier Hochelaga Maisonneuve and Ile des Soeurs). 6 pick leaders and over 25 volunteers visited 13 tree owners during over 8 days, harvesting a variety of urban fruit such as grapes, pears and apples straight from back yards.
The harvest is normally shared in three equal parts between tree owner, volunteer harvesters an organization that increases food security in their community. But this week, home owners and volunteers were very generous and donated almost two thirds of the harvest (=700lbs!) to organizations such as la Maison de Quartier de Villeray, Share the Warmth, Cuisine collective du Grand Plateau, Carrefour alimentaire Centre-Sud/Rencontres Cuisines and Santropol Roulant.
Les Fruits défendus has already surpassed last year’s total harvest and picked over 3400 lbs of fruits in 2015, with several weeks left in the season.
A huge thank you to our extraordinary volunteers for their help, home owners who share their trees and fruit with us and beneficiary organizations that help so many in their communities.