Share the Harvest: Volunteers make sure locally grown fruit goes to good homes

Every fall, all over Carson City, fruit trees laden with apples, plums and pears are left unattended, the fruit left to spoil, fall to the ground, and nourish no one other than a few birds and worms.

Enter the recently formed Fruit Barons - a group of tree lovers who willingly go to people's homes to harvest, then distribute nature's bounty.

"We have more fruit trees than we can get to. In my business alone, there are hundreds," said Tom Henderson, owner of Healthy Trees and organizer of the Fruit Barons.

"I have so many clients with fruit trees, and maybe the tree is just too tall for them or they are too elderly to do the picking, or they don't have the tools or they don't feel safe on a ladder. That's where we come in," he said.

"We have the skills and the tools. We have a 12-foot orchard ladder, a fruit-picking pole with a claw that drops the fruit into an attached basket, and we are readily available," he said.

"We did this informally in prior years, so believe me, I know where all the fruit trees are," he said.

A typical Carson City harvest, of either apples, plums or pears, takes about an hour and a half, and can yield 20-30 pounds of fruit. This leads to the other half of the Fruit Baron's commitment - distributing the fruit once it has been gathered.

"Times are tough, and people are struggling to get food. We can donate the fruit to a number of charities like the senior citizens center, FISH, Advocates to End Domestic Violence, the Ron Wood Center, the Boys & Girls Club, or Food for Thought," Henderson said.

"We also give fruit to the homeowner - however much they want - and the harvesters keep a portion for canning or drying," he said.

But the Fruit Barons also would like to be able to distribute some of the not-so-pristine fruit to livestock if it's a bit too wormy for human consumption.

"Some people are squeamish about that, but I have a juicer at home, and I don't really care, and horses don't care, so we could use more names of people who want apples for their horses, even though most of the fruit we pick is recoverable and edible," Henderson said.

Henderson said the operator of the horse-drawn carriage around town occasionally stops beneath the apple tree at the corner of Curry and 4th streets.

"He'll just come by and pluck one for his horses," he said. "We need more horse people outlets."

Another thing the Fruit Barons need more of is volunteers. They are working now with only about six couples and eight individuals.

"This is our busy time. We could do an apple tree every day this month, so we need morning volunteers and we need more weekday volunteers," he said.

Henderson said he forwards information about trees needing to be harvested to his volunteer coordinator Gianna Shirk, a local Realtor.

"She makes all the arrangements with the owner and harvesters," he said.

Shirk, vice chairwoman of the Carson City Shade Tree Council, said what she loves best is being able to match up wholesome fruit with people.

"There are so many fruit trees in our area, and all that fruit could be just going to waste," she said. "Besides, I like getting out and seeing our fine city and how beautiful it is this time of year. We're all a bunch of tree huggers, you know."

Their slogan is: The Fruit Barons of Carson City - Donating to the homeless and needy in Carson City.

"I have a real soft spot in my heart for the homeless and needy," Shirk said. "I know there are a lot of them in our community, and there is such a short window for picking. The fruits are all ripe right now, and if we didn't do this, it would all go to waste."

Shirk, a vegan, also added, "It would be nice if the whole world ate more fruits and vegetables."

Nevada Appeal columnist Maizie Harris Jesse was a recent recipient of the Fruit Barons' services, and said it was a wonderful experience.

"Tom knew I had plums and apples, so they called me. I just hate things to go to waste, so I'm really glad somebody is doing something about it," Jesse said.

"They came by early in the morning before I got up, and I woke up to a nice box of apples and plums on my porch," she said. "I urge anybody who needs their fruit picked to call them. They don't bother you. They cleaned up, raked and called a couple of days later to make sure everything was OK."

Jesse said as soon as she got the fruit from from the porch, she chopped up her apples, threw in a few raisins and chopped celery, added some mayonnaise and a little curry, and enjoyed a nice nice fresh-fruit salad.

"It was pretty darn tasty," she said.

Those who visit the Fruit Barons website will also learn part of their motivation, "We are happiest among the trees."

Henderson, whose company has been in business in the Carson City area for seven years, has about 3,000 clients. He was recently voted "Best Tree Care Company" in the Nevada Appeal's Reader's Choice awards.

"It's very gratifying," he said. "A lot of people just enjoy picking, and I'm one of those people. I enjoy knowing that it won't go to waste and that someone will be nourished. Maybe a child will get a piece of fresh fruit."

GET INVOLVED:

• To join the Fruit Barons, or to notify them of trees that need harvesting or places where fresh fruit can be distributed, call Tom Henderson at 224-3827 or Gianna Shirk at 220-6330. For more information, go to http://fruitbarons.shutterfly.com.

• The Carson City Shade Tree Council's 19th Annaul Fall Tree Care Seminar will be from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 3 in the Sierra Room of the Carson City Community Center, 851 E. William St. Registration fee is $75. For more information, call the Carson City Parks and Recreation Department, 887-2262.