Got Produce?
Click any of the questions below to jump straight to the explanations and useful tips on Frequently Asked Questions about our Plant a Row program.
What types of produce do you accept?
How do I have my fruit tree(s) harvested by Food for People?
How quickly will you come to pick the fruit from my fruit tree(s)?
Do you have to pick ALL of my fruit?
I only have one tree. Is that enough for you to pick?
My tree is 30 feet tall. Can you get all of the fruit?
Do I need to be present at harvest time?
In what regions of Humboldt County do your harvests take place?
Are you interested in my extra garden produce?
Can I get a receipt for my donation?
If I have more questions, who do I ask?
What types of produce do you accept?
We accept nearly all fruits and vegetables. The number one rule of thumb is that the produce needs to be edible. Think of it this way: if you would not eat the fruit or vegetable because it is too sour, rotten, unripe or in otherwise bad shape, then we cannot accept it. The damage from some pests can make certain fruits inedible, but some are totally fine to donate.
How do I have my fruit tree(s) harvested by Food for People?
Email @email or call (707) 445-3166, extension 312.
If you know when your fruit is about to ripen, you can schedule your tree to be harvested. During peak harvest season-especially around apple season-our schedule may be booked out for up to three weeks. It is important to monitor your fruit throughout the season so that you can anticipate when it will be ready and schedule it before it is too late. If you or someone you know is able to, please consider picking the tree for us. Our gleaning schedule gets quite packed at peak harvest season, and it helps us greatly if you are able to harvest for us and either bring it to one of our pantries closest to your community or call us to request a pickup of the harvested fruit. If you need us to help harvest, please read on...
How quickly will you come to pick the fruit from my fruit tree(s)?
Food for People relies heavily on the work of volunteers who help us accomplish a tremendous amount of work in each of our programs. The majority of our fruit picks are led by volunteers. We do our best to get volunteers out as soon as possible, but during the busy fall harvesting season, and in areas of the county where we may not have many volunteers, it can take up to 3 weeks to schedule a harvest. Luckily, most apples will last a while on the tree once they are ready to be harvested! To ensure your fruit gets picked while it is ripe, please give us plenty of lead time to coordinate a fruit pick. If your fruit needs to be picked before we can get to your property, consider picking it for us and bringing it to one of our pantries closest to your community.
Nope! If you would like us to keep some of the low hanging fruit on the tree for you to eat, just let us know when we are scheduling the fruit pick.
I only have one tree. Is that enough for you to pick?
In most cases, absolutely! One fruit tree can yield up to 800 pounds! Since we often send volunteers to pick your fruit, our only requirement is that you have more than 100 pieces of fruit on your tree that we can collect and donate. If you have less than 100 pieces, please consider picking it for us and bringing it to one of our pantries closest to your community.
My tree is 30 feet tall. Can you get all of the fruit?
Our volunteers will get as much fruit as they can safely pick. If your tree is above 10 to 15 feet tall, it is unlikely we will be able to get the fruit at the top. Additionally, if your tree has a lot of dead wood or if there are electrical lines around the tree, we may not be able to reach some of the fruit. We will do our best to get as much as we can, and we always recommend pruning regularly for the health of your trees.
Do I need to be present at harvest time?
Nope! If we can access your tree(s), and you are comfortable with it, you do not need to be home when we do the harvest. A Food for People lead volunteer will be present to supervise and harvest. We will always give you a call beforehand to let you know we are going to be harvesting your tree that day.
We distribute food through many of our 18 different programs, including 2 programs for children, 3 programs for seniors age 60+ and homebound individuals, an on-site pantry, a network of 16 other pantries across Humboldt County, and our Mobile Produce Pantry that visits remote rural communities, to name a few. Participating households tell us all the time how appreciative they are to have such high quality, locally grown, fresh fruits and vegetables, which they would otherwise be unable to afford to purchase.
Why didn't my fruit get picked?
We appreciate you thinking of us, however due to the volume of fruit trees in the area we must be selective with trees that are registered. There is no guarantee your tree will be harvested due to one or all of the following reasons:
- The schedule is full at time your tree is ready to be harvested
- Fruit is too low to the ground or touching the ground
- Fruit or tree is difficult to access
- Fruit or tree is potentially unsafe for our staff or voulnteers to access/risk of injury
- Fruit is overripe or overly bug damaged
- There is not a sufficient yield of fruit that season
This is to ensure we can be the most effective and efficient with our time, transportation costs, and volunteers.
In what regions of Humboldt County do your harvests take place?
We currently harvest fruits and vegetables across Humboldt County.
Are you interested in my extra garden produce?
Depending on how much extra produce you have, we may be able to harvest your garden. If you have just a few spare fruits or veggies that you cannot eat, we can connect you with a local pantry you can drop it off to, so your homegrown bounty does not go to waste. We try to be as efficient as possible with our time, transportation costs, and volunteers, so small amounts of produce might be too challenging for us to pick up from you.
Yes, we are fully insured. Each fruit pick is led by a trained Pick Leader who makes sure each event goes off without a hitch!
Can I get a receipt for my donation?
You will receive a receipt, for tax or other purposes, at the end of harvest season/calendar year for your grand total of donations for the calendar year. It will detail how many pounds you donated. If you need a receipt sooner, please give us a call or email.
If I have more questions, who do I ask?
Please contact our Local Food Resources Coordinator by emailing @email or calling (707) 445-3166, extension 312.