Fruit Harvesting and Foodie Event weekend!

 Last Saturday was an amazing day in the fruitworld! We started the day with a great group of volunteers harvesting 400lbs of valencia oranges in Northridge and then participated in LA’s first Food Rendezvous in Venice, CA! It was great to see some of our friends from the Garden School Foundation, Community Services Unl…imited, Slow Food LA, LA Farm Girl and sample all of the incredible food made by local artisans. Our candied lemons peels and 2nd vintage preserved lemons were a big hit and we look forward to participating in this event again. A big thanks again to Laurie & Dominique for inviting us!

Team Moorpark baggin grapefruits…

Last Saturday, Ryan lead an amazing team of Moorpark High School volunteers who helped bag over 8,300lbs of juicy grapefruits in just 2 hours at Burney’s Ranch which was then shared between Catholic Charities of Moorpark & MEND Poverty in Pacoima! A huge thanks to all the volunteers who came out and to our incredibly generous & gracious host Mr. Burney… Go Team Moorpark!!!

The start of Summer Citrusmania!

Over the weekend, Food Forward volunteers harvested over 3,000lbs of mixed citrus in Northridge and Granada Hills all to feed the hungry! The energy and committment of our volunteers and leadership never cease to amaze and we truly appreciate everyone coming out to help with the start of summer fruit rescue, especially those who drove up to help from San Ramon and Long Beach…

A few spots still available for a pick this Weds 6/16 in Northridge – email marie@foodforward.org for details.

Look forward to seeing you all in a tree soon!

Big Pick #7 Results Are In!

Big Pick #7 results are in!! This morning at CSUN’s Orange Grove, just over 4500 lbs were harvested by FF volunteers, all going in to the hands of those in need in the coming days! A HUGE thank you to everyone who volunteered out in the heat today!

New Fruits and lots of juice!

The last few weeks, our fruit loops have been busy harvesting fruit, fruit and more fruit all over Los Angeles to help feed the hungry and June is off to a great start!

Just before Memorial Day, we had a huge harvesting weekend in Northridge & Sylmar which brought in over 2,000lbs of grapefruit, oranges & lemons… The fruit loops were off for the long holiday weekend and then back in Sherman Oaks this past week for more grapefruits.

Today was Day 1 of our juicy fruit weekend bonanza with JF & CQ harvesting our very first blood oranges (Sylmar) and apples (Reseda), and more lemons & grapefruits bringing in a total of 526lbs going today to MEND!

Just a little warm up for the BIG PICK #7 tomorrow at CSUN!

A BIG thanks to all the volunteers who join us on our weekly picks and support us in so many ways and we look forward to seeing you all in a tree soon!

Juicy Fruit Express – a Loooong but Successful Adventure

“Adventure” was probably the key word that can describe the FF crew’s day on Saturday when we ventured in a veggie oil-powered bus out to Bako to pick a hundred-plus tree property.  We’ll opt for the less-eco-friendly model next time  (15mph up the Grapevine grade was a wee bit too much even for us hardcore eco-folk) but the time spent getting to and from our location was rewarded with amazing weather, great trees and a spectacular mountain top lunch put together by our host Chris and Jody and their great family – And to keep it all in perspective, 3200 lbs of beautiful Valencia oranges were harvested by our crew – all staying local and 100% going to the Kern County Food Pantry. Thanks to everyone who picked with us.

We even made it on the local ABC affiliate : http://www.turnto23.com/news/23120221/detail.html

Thanks to Dusty Stiles for contributing his photos and to Erica, Marie and Carl for pulling it all off!

Another Fruity Week

This week, FF loops harvested 222lbs of tangerines in the Melrose area,  161lbs of tangelos in Chatsworth and 75lbs of grapefruit, oranges and kumquats in the Larchmont area all donated to SOVA to help feed the hungry!

We are less than 24 hours away from boarding the Juicy Fruit Express – it’s going to be an amazing day of harvesting with the FF crew and new friends/volunteers from Bakersfield…

Looking for fruit trees in LA!

If you live in LA and have healthy fruit trees (or in a neighborhood that does), please get in touch with us as Food Forward will participate in Big Sunday on May 1st and 2nd – the LARGEST volunteer event in all of Southern California.

We will be harvesting fruit trees in neighborhoods across LA, so we invite you, your friends, family and/or neighbors to take part in this incredible event by being a FRUIT DONOR.

What does it entail? You just sit there while a few of our (fully insured) volunteers do all the work of picking, schlepping and hauling – Sure you might offer us some lemonade or an off color joke to keep our spirits up, but honestly all you need to do is agree to take part and you will received a TAX DONATION RECEIPT for EVERY POUND WE HARVEST. Quite the deal, we know, so don’t tell too many people…better yet, tell everyone including your neighbors!

More importantly, please call us at 818-530-4125 or email Erica our Harvesting/Property Coordinator at erica@foodforward.org – to let us know you are on-board – and while you are at it, check out the great work we do and numerous press stories on us at our website: FOODFORWARD.ORG.

You will be proud to be part of our growing family of FRUITANTHROPISTS – now over 150 strong and growing weekly!

Easter Sunday Fruit Hunt!

Our Easter Sunday fruit hunt in Chatsworth brings in 175lbs of tangerines & tangelos! A wonderful start to spring and a month full of fruit harvests to help feed the hungry…

Food Forward’s Fresh Juice – April 2010

Hello Food Forward Volunteers!

We are proud to announce this month’s Fresh Juice announcing April’s picks and events. Below are the calendared events:

Please RSVP via to marie@foodforward.org with the following information to reserve your spot(s):

1)      Date of pick requested

2)      Total number of spots requested and name(s) of pickers (please include ages of children if they are under 18)

3)      E-mail address

4)      Cell phone # you can be reached at on the day of the pick

Please note: the exact address of the pick will be given out only to confirmed pickers 48-72 hours prior to the pick.

NEW POLICY IN EFFECT: Volunteer participation is crucial to the success of our organization. Typically, there are long standby lists for each pick. When volunteers do not show up, not only does it prevent somebody who wants to volunteer from doing so, it ultimately diminishes the amount of fruit that is harvested for the hungry. If for any reason you are not able to attend the pick that you signed up for, please contact the pick leader or Marie at marie@foodforward.org or Carl at carl@foodforward.org.  If you fail to notify us two times, we will be forced to suspend you from the volunteer pool.

3-27 and 3-28 Saturday and Sunday – No Reservation Needed

Event: Tomatomania

Start Time:      9:00 AM

End Time:       5:00 PM

Where: Tapia Brothers Farm on Hayvenhurst and Burbank, Encino, CA

Details: Come visit Food Forward’s table at Tomatomania, kindly hosted by the Tapia Bros Farm, and take advantage of your first (and most likely ONLY) chance to buy Food Forward’s CAN IT First Vintage Canned Meyer Lemons! Come soon as these lemons are absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS and will sell out FAST!

4-1-10            Thursday

Event: Citrus Pick

Start Time:      10:00 AM

End Time:       12:00 PM

Where: Mission Hills/San Fernando Valley

Spots Available: 2-3

Details: Join FF on our first April Fool’s Day pick!

4-2-10              Friday – No Reservation Needed

Event: Food Forward Casual Foodie Meet Up

Start Time:      6:00 PM

End Time:       ?

Where: The Brig Parking Lot on Abbot Kinney in Venice, CA

Details: In an answer to Food Forward folks wanting to “get social,” we’re having an informal meet up on April 2^nd at the First Friday Gourmet Food Truck gathering in Venice – meeting for eats and drinks starting at 6pm. Look for the FF folk in t-shirts and NO fruit picking allowed!

4-4-10              Sunday

Event: Easter Sunday Tangerine & Tangelo Harvest

Start Time:      10:30 AM

End Time:       12:30 PM

Where: Chatsworth

Spots Available: 8-10

Details: Come join Food Forward on our first Easter Sunday fruit harvest and take a break from the egg hunt to help hunt and harvest tangerines & tangelos for the hungry!

4-7-10              Wednesday

Event: Sunset Pick

Start Time:      5:30 PM

End Time:       7:00 PM

Spots Available: 4

Where: San Fernando Valley, TBD

Details: Come join Food Forward on a sunset pick – a great way to relax after a long day of work!

4-10-10            Saturday

Event: The Juicy Fruit Express

Start Time: 7:45 AM

End Time:  6:00 PM

Where: Bakersfield, CA

Spots Available: 3

Details: Come join Food Forward on our first field trip to Bakersfield, CA! The Juicy Fruit Express is a vegetable oil run bus that will take 40 of us to an amazing citrus orchard in Bakersfield for a huge orange pick and BBQ on Saturday, March 6th. Tickets are only $20.00 per person – this includes your seat on the bus and all food, drinks and refreshments for the day.

4-14-10            Wednesday

Event: Sunset Pick

Start Time:      5:30 PM

End Time:       7:00 PM

Spots Available: 4

Where: Sherman Oaks

Details: Come join Food Forward on a sunset pick – a great way to relax after a long day of work!

4-14-10            Wednesday

Event: Lemon Pick

Start Time:      10:30am AM

End Time:       11:00 AM

Spots Available: 1

Where: Pico/Robertson area

Details: Come join a daytime lemon harvest – one beautiful tree!

4-17-10            Saturday

Event: Citrus Harvest

Start Time:      10:30 AM

End Time:       12:30 PM

Spots Available: 6-8

Where: Granada Hills

Details: Come harvest navel oranges, valencia oranges, lemons and grapefruits!

4-17-10            Saturday  - No Reservation Needed

Event: Earth Day South Los Angeles

Start Time:      11:00 AM

End Time:       6:00 PM

Where: Normandie Avenue Elementary School

4505 South Raymond Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90037

Details: Come visit Food Forward’s table at Community Services Unlimited’s Earth Day celebration! Interested in volunteering at the table with the Food Forward team? Contact marie@foodforward.org for more details.

4-18-10            Sunday

Event: Citrus Pick

Start Time:      10:30 AM

End Time:       12:30 PM

Spots Available: 6

Where: Valley Glen/San Fernando Valley

Details: Come harvest a beautiful (and tall) Grapefruit tree!

4-18-10            Sunday – No Reservation Needed

Event: Earth Day Festival

Star Time: 9:30 AM

End Time: 1:00 PM

Where: Pasadena

Details: Come visit Food Forward’s table at the All Saints Church in Pasadena for their 10^th annual Earth Day Festival. Interested in volunteering at the table with the Food Forward crew? Contact marie@foodforward.org for more details.

4-22-10            Thursday

Event: Earth Day 2010 Pick at CSUN

Start Time:      4:00 PM

End Time:       7:00 PM

Spots Available: 20

Where: Nordhoff St. and Zelzah Ave., Northridge, CA

Details: Come join Food Forward on our first Earth Day pick at CSUN!

4-22-10            Thursday – No Reservation Needed

Event: Earth Day 2010: A Promise for the Planet

Start Time:      12:00 PM

End Time:       5:00 PM

Where: SPACELAND

1717 Silverlake Blvd.

Silverlake, CA

Details: Come visit Food Forward’s table at Sustainable Silverlake’s Earth Day event. For more information, visit www.sustainablesilverlake.org. Interested in volunteering at the table with the Food Forward crew? Contact marie@foodforward.org for more details.

4-24-10            Saturday

Event: Citrus Pick

Start Time:      10:30 AM

End Time:       12:30 PM

Spots Available: 6

Where: Tujunga

Details: Come join Food Forward on our second annual pick at the Fish Lady’s home, home of 2 great citrus trees and one truly magnificent Koi pond!

4-25-10            Sunday

Event: Citrus Pick

Start Time: 10:30 AM

End Time: 12:30 PM

Spots Available: 6

Where: Pasadena

Details: Come join us as we return to a property in Pasadena to harvest oranges and then move to a 2nd property a block away to harvest grapefruits!

Great News!!!  Food Forward is now officially a non-profit 501(c)(3). Your monetary or equipment donations are greatly appreciated!

We look forward to seeing you at a pick very soon!

Sincerely,

The Food Forward Team

818-554-8696 (Carl’s cell)

http://foodforward.org

twitter: @foodforwardla

Facebook group: Food Forward

P.O. Box 48818

Los Angeles, CA 90048