Surrey fruit trees neglected no more: Sources Food Hub offers free pruning workshop

To kick off the 2020 growing season, Sources Food Hub is offering a new and free resource. Fruit tree owners in Surrey are invited to attend a pruning workshop to learn how to take better care of their fruit-bearing trees while supporting our community at the same time.

This workshop, to be held on January 25 (1 to 3 p.m.) at the Historic Stewart Farm in South Surrey, is part of Sources Food Hub’s Community Harvest Program – a gleaning service to actively rescue food that might otherwise be wasted.

“During the growing season in Surrey and with the support of volunteers, we pick plums, apples and other fruit from the trees of residences and farms, who are unable or too busy to harvest it or simply happy to donate the fresh food,” said Denise Darrell, Executive Director of Community Services at SOURCES.

Tree owners can keep one-third of the harvest if they want, and the rest is distributed to local charities including Sources White Rock/South Surrey Food Bank, where fresh produce can be challenging to provide for the more than 600 people who use their services each week.

“The harvested produce that our Food Bank receives from the Food Hub is a blessing, as it allows us to offer healthy, fresh choices to the people who come to us for help. It’s a win-win – the tree owners also stand to gain from healthier trees, better fruit, and bigger yields,” Darrell said.

Interested fruit tree owners are asked to contact foodhub@sourcesbc.ca or 604-596-0973 to register for the workshop. Residents who are interested in becoming a volunteer or donating the fruit from their trees to the Sources Food Hub this summer are also encouraged to get in touch. Learn more about Sources Food Hub at www.sourcesfoodhub.ca

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DID YOU KNOW?

In Canada, most recent estimates set the annual waste of edible food, across the farm to fork system, at about 11 million tons. Divide that number by Surrey’s population, and edible food waste in Surrey equals almost 170 million pounds each year. That’s enough to feed half of Surrey’s population for the next year!

Related: https://www.thelocaltreeexperts.com/