Thursday, May 7, 2009

Fruit For All

For those living in regions where fruit blossoms continually, or at least rather abundantly in season, I'd argue that nothing can sadden the heart more intensely than a pile of rotting, or branch-ripened but unharvested, edibles. The folks at Fallen Fruit have found the cure. This art collective, based in L.A., develops neighborhood maps of fruit available for public picking. They sponsor public fruit walks along with public jam-making workshops, using the bounty scored during their urban fruit hunts. 
This is such a fabulous idea, and one that couldn't be more timely, given the rising interest in local foods and food security. Do you know of any public fruit caches where you live? Around Asheville, swells of wild blueberries are available for the picking up on the Blue Ridge Parkway come late Summer. When August rolls around, I'll happily be the one with the violet stained fingers. 

*Small Measure: Wild forage! It's entirely possible to eat for free more often than you might think. Fruits that have fallen off the vine, berries growing determinedly in wild bramble, dandelion greens peeking through parking lot cracks, chickweed spreading itself along sidewalks-it's all there for the taking! 

*Image from ethicurean.com



6 comments:

NATASHA SHEALY-natasha@thenoise.us said...

this is cool! I wrote an article about picking other peoples plums and making jam(:
natasha

Anonymous said...

I have an apple tree in my front yard and a lady just told me that she thought it was one of the most beautiful apple tree's she has ever seen. She said every fall she loves to see it because it is sooo loaded with such beautiful apple's Come on by and pick ya an apple!! Love MOM

sk said...

Wow! What a cool idea.

I keep one of those 5-year journals where every page is one day, with 5 spots for writing, and I'm now on year 2, so I've been able to easily remember which days last year I made my first pie from dewberries, or which day my friend and I picked mulberries at the park, or went to the u-pick persimmon farm.

ashley english said...

SK-What a fantastic idea! Keeping a journal lets you know harvest date and location! I love it!

Anonymous said...

I live in Florida and see so many oranges go to waste. I wish they would open up the un-harvested groves in my area!
We are picking blueberries this weekend. The bounty will be plentiful.It will be wonderful!!

Unknown said...

i know some of the fallen fruit fellows- what a fantastic project! nikki