All the news that's fit to eat
New Non-Profit Group Will Help Small Farms By Pia Hinckle The FruitGuys has formed a new non-profit organization to promote sustainable agriculture practices for small farms, an evolution of the company’s Farm Steward Program, which has provided farmers with aid since 2008. “We thought that the development of a non-profit entity was important so that [...]
Farm Steward By Karla Milosevich In 2011, The FruitGuys’ Farm Steward program financed a $3,000 no-interest loan to Baia Nicchia Farm and Nursery in Sunol, CA. Baia Nicchia is a family farm, run by Fred Hempel and Jill Shepard, that grows heirloom tomatoes, specialty squash, peppers, and herbs. FruitGuys volunteers also helped plant tomato seedlings last May. [...]
By Pia Hinckle During the 2011 holiday season, generous FruitGuys’ customers provided thousands of people fresh fruit at 22 community-based organizations across the country. “The produce donation went over very well this holiday season! We handed out the product in our Grocery Center to our HIV/AIDS clients as an extra special holiday treat,” said Mike Coughlin, [...]
Paying it Forward By Pia Hinckle In a year when more people continued to struggle with less, The FruitGuys GoodWorks program responded to the realities of the continuing hard economy by making micro-loans to farmers; increasing donations of fresh produce to food pantries; and promoting fresh food access for all communities, especially those experiencing hunger. [...]
Growing Home Gardens By Kim Jordan Photos courtesy of Nationalities Service Center PHILADELPHIA–Every Monday morning Adam Forbes travels to The FruitGuys’ Philadelphia warehouse to load his pick-up truck. Apples? Check. Bananas? Check. Citrus? Pears? Check. Adam brings the fruit, and any other produce that wasn’t used in customers’ crates that week, back to the Growing [...]
St. Anthony’s Dining Room Nourishes the Needy By Pia Hinckle Photos courtesy of St. Anthony’s Dining Room SAN FRANCISCO — Andrew Hudson is holding a pear in his left hand and wearing a big smile. “I love fruit! Oranges, plums, nectarines. Fruit is good for you!” Called Dancer by his friends, the 59-year-old Atlanta native [...]
By Chris Mittelstaedt The college application process was not an easy one for me. I didn’t know where I wanted to go to school, and I had no idea what to say to encapsulate myself in an essay. I finally settled on telling the story of the summer I spent rehabbing houses in the Appalachian Mountain towns [...]
By Denise Goitia, Nutrition Educator at HeartBeets, courtesy of Capay Valley Farm Shop This last year Farm Shop has attended two lively health festivals sponsored by San Francisco HeartBeets at San Francisco General Hospital. Following these fabulous events, we invited Denise Goitia, HeartBeets’ Nutrition Educator, to share more about our partnership and their inspiring work! HeartBeets [...]
Loans give a leg up to farms in need By Pia Hinckle Microloans were pioneered in India and other countries to help farmers and small businesses have working capital to be successful or to expand their businesses and then slowly re-pay the money. As part of The FruitGuys’ Farm Steward program, we recently financed a [...]
By Karla Milosevich & Rebecca North Rodents, such as gophers and voles, eat the roots of the fruit trees which can damage or kill the trees, so rodent control is a big issue for farmers. Owls are predators that can control rodent populations in orchards naturally without the use of pesticides and chemicals. So how [...]
By Karla Milosevich On a sunny Northern California morning in April, volunteers gathered at picturesque Baia Nicchia Farm in Alameda County to plant heirloom tomato seedlings. When the tomatoes are ready to eat, we’ll enjoy knowing that we had a hand in the process, as well as eating them. Baia Nicchia is a small farm and nursery [...]
The FruitGuys in the Dirt: A Farm Steward Story By Amanda Pineault On Saturday, March 12, 2011 a small contingent of FruitGuys joined Cub Scouts from Santa Rosa and participants from the Volunteer Center for Sonoma County at Gabriel Farm in Sebastopol, CA (Sonoma County). The theme for the day was pollinators! Before we could [...]
The FruitGuys Philadelphia team helped green urban West Philadelphia by sponsoring a fall planting at the Walnut Hill Community Farm through POP (Philadelphia Orchard Project). The farm was reclaimed from the urban landscape this past spring through a partnership between The Enterprise Center Community Development Corporation (TEC-CDC) and Philly Rooted, led by farm managers/directors Nic [...]
The FruitGuys Farm Steward mission is to promote sustainable farming practices that have no negative impact on the environment and add long-term social and economic value to the farm and farming community. To this end, we wanted to let you know about a once in a lifetime fund raiser for Capay Farmshop at Full Belly Farm. [...]
West Coast customers – enjoy locally produced heirloom fruit, farm crafted specialty foods and a special “Do It Yourself” Slow Food project in this unique monthly offering. SlowFood Victory Garden Crate Learn more and order at www.fruitguys.com/slowfood. The FruitGuys have partnered with Slow Food San Francisco in a fundraising project to benefit the Schoolyard Gardens [...]
Introducing Preservation Harvest – produce that makes a difference. Buying plums can help save a farm and make healthier land. Learn more at www.preservationharvest.com. West Coast customers, get a box of 25 refreshing Black Amber Plums from our crop farmed in Exeter, California. They have a smooth, crème colored inner flesh and tart purple skin. Put [...]
A limited time offer for California residents brought to you by The FruitGuys and Slow Food San Francisco. This unique box includes a selection of very special heirloom and Ark of Taste produce, locally-sourced artisan food items, and an easy “do it yourself” kitchen project kit. June’s box features honey from Torrey Olson’s Gabriel Farm. made by the [...]
PHILADELPHIA—My commute: therapeutic, thought provoking, calming, and centering. Is such a commute possible? You bet! I am one of the estimated 10,000 Philadelphia residents who bikes to work each day—weather permitting. My time in the saddle provides me with the fresh air that I need to feel energized for the day. Biking was not always [...]
Warm spring weather is waking up the farmer in me. I suddenly have the urge to sink my hands into the soil and grow greens, tomatoes, potatoes – you name it. A new resident of Philadelphia, I was not sure how to go about finding a way to satisfy my urge to farm. I turned [...]
You can tell from the photos that the owls are feeling very much at home in the owl boxes that The FruitGuys installed at Kauffman’s Fruit Farm in Bird-in-Hand, PA. We hope that we will soon be sharing pics of little owlets. Stay tuned. Read more about our donation of owl boxes to Kauffman’s and [...]
Alex Godbe started The Hungry Owl Project in 2002 to raise awareness of the danger that rodent poison poses to owls. Alex had been an intern for Wildcare, a Bay Area wildlife rehabilitation and education center, and was struck by the number of sick raptors and other hunting birds that ended up in the facility [...]
Look who’s on candid owl camera! Picture of Northern Barn Owl taken this week on The FruitGuys Owl Cam at Kauffman’s Fruit Farm in Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania. Read more about our owl box installations here.
The Bee Beat: an occasional series on our friendly pollinators “Go native.” That was the position taken at a recent Bee Symposium in Sebastopol, CA hosted by BeeKind and The Partners for Sustainable Pollination. The symposium hall was filled to capacity with beekeepers and wanna-bees. Lectures by apiary luminaries Dr. Robbin Thorp, Randy Oliver, Serge [...]
By Bridget Meigs Owls can play a crucial role in rodent control on organic farms. Instead of traps or poison, owls are natural predators that can help control populations of rodents like meadow voles that can girdle and kill the fruit trees. Many owl species reside in forested habitat, but the North American Barn Owl [...]
FruitGuys Karla and Bridget visited one of Philabundance’s Fresh-for-All sites in Upper Darby, PA with clementines, pears and apples in tow on March 19th. We enjoyed chatting with folks who were picking up free produce, as well as Fresh For All Program Manager Tunisia Garnett, Kelly Hile, Director of Direct Service, and our host, Elizabeth [...]
Owl box and owl camera installation at Kauffman’s Fruit Farm! Kauffman’s Fruit Farm Bird-In-Hand, PA March 18th 12:30pm To learn more about this project, please contact bridget@fruitguys.com.
Join us for our first Farm Steward Project of 2010 on the west coast at E&M Farm, growers of sweet and delicious nectarines and peaches, in beautiful Vernalis, CA. Come help us install six owl boxes while you learn about the owls in the area and the important role they play in rodent control. If you [...]
The FruitGuys GoodWorks Project includes our Farm Steward and Community Outreach programs which have donated thousands of pieces of fruit to charitable organizations nationwide. Our Farm Steward program donates trees, bee hives, and bat and barn owl boxes to farmers to support sustainable agriculture practices. Since 2008, generous FruitGuys customers have donated more than 200 fruit [...]
Closed for the holidays? Why not give something back to those in need. Instead of putting your order on hold, our Donate-A-Crate program lets you send your fresh fruit to a worthy non-profit organization in your area serving those less fortunate than ourselves. In 2008, FruitGuys clients donated more than 180 crates to food-banks and programs [...]
Congratulations to our fabulous farmer friend and environmental steward, Allen Harthorn of Harpo Organics, who grows succulent organic Valencia oranges in Ventura County. Allen Harthorn and wife, Pamela, have transitioned his grandfather’s ranch into a certified organic farm. In addition to being on the board of California Certified Organic Farms, Allen has served as president [...]
Four hives and five months ago, The FruitGuys brought forth to Gabriel Farm a prodigious gift of pollination, conceived in the spirit of Farm Stewardship and dedicated to the proposition that all fruits must be fertilized equally or an orchard cannot endure. Dedicated though we are to the ideals of supporting sustainably grown local agriculture, [...]
‘Tis the season for Bela Lugosi impressions, fake blood, and rubber bats dangling from doorways. But The FruitGuys has real bats on its mind. On behalf of our vespertilian friends, this week The FruitGuys Farm Steward Program installed bat boxes at the historic Jelich Ranch in Portola Valley, Ca. FruitGuys Bridget Meigs and Dan Lemley [...]
As Thanksgiving approaches, all of us here at The FruitGuys want to thank you for your business. We are here to help you meet your wellness goals, whether within your company or through our take-home products. We consider ourselves fortunate to work with customers, like you, who share our ideals about health, the environment, and [...]
Food banks in many of our metropolitan areas are facing increased demand and decreased monetary donations this season. One way you can help is to forward your office fruit to people in need if your office is closed, or minimally staffed, during the holidays. The FruitGuys Donate-A-Crate program is an easy way to help others. [...]
As the holidays approach, all of us here at The FruitGuys want to thank you for your business. We are here to help you meet your wellness goals, whether within your company or through our take-home products. We consider ourselves fortunate to work with customers, like you, who share our ideals about health, the environment, [...]
FruitGuys clients love their weekly fruit but many of you were generous enough to forward that fruit to people in need during the Thanksgiving holiday when your offices were closed or minimally staffed. Our Donate-A-Crate Program shipped 71 FruitCrates over to San Francisco’s Family House, Riley Center, City Harvest in New York City, and the [...]
We want to thank all the generous FruitGuys clients who forwarded their holiday crates to those in need through our Donate-A-Crate program. More than 180 crates – that’s 7,300 pieces of fruit – were sent to food-banks and programs for families in need between the Thanksgiving and New Years holidays. Your crates went to The [...]
A hearty contingent of FruitGuys (with friends and families in tow) went to Gabriel Farm in Sebastopol, CA this weekend to help farmer Torrey Olson plant new trees. Part Fresh-Air fund, part Farm Steward project, planting pear trees with Torrey was a great excuse to get out to the country and help a friend. Torrey [...]
Bees and the pollination they provide are essential to growing fruits and veggies but their numbers have mysteriously declined in the past decade, so FruitGuys News has started a Bee Beat to cover these unsung farm heroes. We’ve reported on the FruitGuys Farm Steward beehive program and the Bees vs. Seeds conundrum in Fresno, CA. [...]
Sebastopol, CA – The good news is the bees are happy at Torrey Olson’s Gabriel Farm, and when the bees are happy, we’re all happy. Bee Beat followers might recall that the original hives installed at Torrey’s Asian Apple Pear orchard as part of The FruitGuys Farm Steward Project did not survive the winter. This [...]
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