It turns out you can share your fruit and eat it too.

Founded last year as a pilot project in south Osborne, Fruit Share is an organization whose aim is to connect volunteers with homeowners in order to salvage perfectly good fruit that would otherwise go to waste.

Due to the positive response and high demand, the project has grown exponentially to include neighbourhoods and people from across the city.

According to Sagan Morrow, co-ordinator of Fruit Share, the most important thing about the project is not only rescuing fruit, but fostering a sense of community. 

“The city is so spread out that it’s a nice way for people to get to know their neighbours.” 

Fruit Share volunteers go to the homes of registered fruit tree owners. The fruit is then picked and divided into thirds, with a third of the harvest going to the homeowner, a third to the volunteers and a third to a charity of the volunteer’s choice. 

So far the Fruit Share has donated to 15 organizations, with Winnipeg Harvest and Siloam Mission being the most popular.

“ The city is so spread out that it’s a nice way for people to get to know their neighbours.

Sagan Morrow, co-ordinator, Fruit Share

Morrow was hired as co-ordinator after the organization received a grant from the Winnipeg Foundation.

She also arranges workshops for the volunteers and homeowners on fruit preserving, dehydrating, and canning with Mary Jane from Mary Jane’s Cooking School. Fruit Share’s blog also hosts a variety of recipes and pictures from different workshops.

The position has been more than a full-time job, with Morrow working evenings and weekends to organize the 150 volunteer pickers and 200 volunteer homeowners during the harvest months.

“It’s been a fantastic experience,” Morrow said.

Morrow studied at the University of Winnipeg, was a frequent Uniter contributor, and blogs about her passion for healthy living.

When she isn’t working with Fruit Share, Morrow is the executive director of the Food Label Movement, an organization in the process of becoming a non-profit that was created in 2010 with a mission statement to increase awareness between the consumer and food manufacturers.

To get involved with Fruit Share, visit www.fruitshare.ca.

Published in Volume 66, Number 6 of The Uniter (October 5, 2011)