by Jillian Saxty, ABG Project Pick Coordinator
Jillian Saxty, Dena Andersen and Alison Limoges
I read an article in the SF Chronicle on Sunday, Dec. 24, 2023 and it struck a nerve. The title was ‘On the joy of feeding your fellow humans’ written by Bob Brody. It made me think of Alameda Backyard Grower’s Project Pick. Project Pick mostly works ‘behind the scenes’ – linking homeowners who want to donate fruit to volunteers who take the time to harvest the fruit, and both to the people in line at the Alameda Food Bank (AFB) who are very grateful to receive the fresh produce.
Alameda Food Bank (AFB) who are very grateful to receive the fresh produce.
Project Pick has about 35 volunteers who help pick several times a year, but we can always use more help. Since 2011 we have donated over 62,000 lbs of fruit to the Food Bank. In 2023, we picked 6,737 lbs, missing our aspirational target of 10,000 lbs (probably due to the torrential rains at the beginning of the year) but happy to have contributed what we did. We have over 400 donors with fruit trees in our database, many of whom donate annually, but we would love to add more trees if homeowners have more fruit than they can use.
I talked to a longtime Alameda Food Bank volunteer, Jerome Szymmczak, who said that although the number of families served has dropped slightly from the peak of the pandemic, the approximately 1000 families that are weekly clients still appreciate the variety of fresh local fruit we donate. Former Director Cindy Houts introduced the grocery store style of food distribution which, as Jerome said, “took the shame away” from going to the Food Bank. Now kids get excited about learning about new fruits and vegetables they can touch and smell and take home.
We are excited about the new proposed AFB facilities that will connect their clients to even more supportive services (read the Alameda Post article by new AFB Executive Director Teale Harden here). Look for more articles in coming ABG eNewsletters about the collaboration between ABG’s Project PIck and the Alameda Food Bank.
Brody wrote “What force better unites us – and embodies humanity at its best – than the simple act of one person humbly contributing food to another?” In this time of war, unrest and mistrust, we can still do small things to help our neighbors. We can stay sane and create peace in our community by growing and sharing food.
If you would like to volunteer to harvest backyard fruit, or have a tree with fruit to share, please email info@alamedabackyardgrowers.org.