For the past two weeks Produce to the People has harvested backyard fruit trees with two of our Summer Youth Program workers, Jaime and Isaac. In such a short amount of time we've already managed to pick close to 400 pounds of plums and lemons, bringing our total near 950 pounds so far!
From the pictures alone, the generosity of the neighbors opening their doors to share their abundance with the wider community is obvious. I hope I never take for granted how amazing people ranging from perfect strangers to good friends are. Regularly the folks whose home's we're harvesting even go so far as to offer us tea and conversation while we work. It's unexpected gestures like that that transform an afternoon from a job into a community building experience.
I like to think of our work as one cog in the larger machinery of generosity in San Francisco. People share their fruit with us, and then we have the opportunity to take that fruit to be handed out at The Free Farm, The Free Farm Stand, The Martin de Porres Center, the Julian Pantry, and other great places.
