Feb 20, 2009 1:42 pm US/Pacific
Citrus Growers Invite Needy To Glean Excess Fruit
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (CBS) ―
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A new Salvation Army program hopes to put citrus growers' excess crops into the hands of needy families, when they would otherwise go to waste. (File)
CBS
Inland Empire citrus growers with excess fruit are being asked to take part in a new Riverside-area Salvation Army program that takes produce from the groves and puts it on the tables of needy families.
"The Salvation Army heard that many groves have more fruit than those who own them can use and that the fruit was rotting and going to waste," said Clarissa Grier, business manager for the Salvation Army's Riverside Corps.
"The Army came up with the idea of taking those who need food to the groves, training them and supervising them as they pick fruit that would otherwise go to waste."
The new program, known as "gleaning," started last month when a Riverside resident with three acres of orange trees near the intersection Mary Street and Victoria Avenue let Salvation Army volunteers come in and pick as many oranges as they could carry, Grier said.
Riverside County boasts more than 38,000 acres of citrus crop, not all of them harvested, including navel and Valencia oranges, mandarins, lemons, tangerines and grapefruit, according to the Riverside County Agricultural Commissioner's Office.
"We're willing to pick anything -- avocadoes, cherries, grapefruit," Grier said. "Whatever the season is, we'll glean it."
She said 15 volunteers have signed up for the next gleaning, wherever the fruit may be.
Under the program, a family or Salvation Army volunteer is given a box to fill up with citrus products, which can either be taken home or donated to the Riverside Corps' Family Services center at 3695 First St.
Grier said demand for sack lunches and other components of the Salvation Army's emergency food program has increased considerably with the onset of the economic recession.
"We're looking for more locations to pick," Grier said. "It's a way for those with citrus groves to reach out and help those in need, and it's a way for families with children to give their children the vitamin-rich benefits of (fresh fruit)."
Anyone interested in taking part in the program should contact the Salvation Army Riverside Corps office at (951) 784-3571.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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