Earlier this month, the IEG team got together for a special Sunday well spent with Southern California volunteer program Food Forward. In orange groves tucked between the canyons of L.A.’s West Hills, our team along with dozens of likeminded volunteers, armed with clawed pole pickers, cardboard boxes, and plenty of water, disseminated into the shaded groves for some backyard harvesting.
The idea is ingenious in it’s simplicity; fruit trees grow copiously all over the region, in public property, in the yards of private homes, and in the orchards across the valley. Also in alarming and continually growing numbers are the amount of hungry mouths to feed, and scarce accessibility of quality foods particularly in low income areas. Food Forward connects those hungry mouths with fresh produce by organizing volunteers to reap the benefits of Southern California’s most infamous of natural resources; namely citrus fruits, but all vegetation that would otherwise go to waste. So far, over 35,000,000 pounds of produce that would, if not for programs like this, go unharvested, have instead been donated to food programs including Stamp out Hunger, Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, and Project Angel Food.
Not only was it an exercise in bonding for our team, and aside from the feeling of community forged by shared altruism, it was thoroughly enjoyable morning combining nature with a bit of elbow grease. Next time you plan to hit the trails for a weekend hike, consider donating a little bit of your time at Orcutt Ranch, did we mention the sweet-smelling aroma of millions of orange blossoms in bloom? For more information on Orcutt Ranch, head to the LA Parks website here.
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