Olalla resident Doris Worland has gotten some help with her fruit gleaning project in South Kitsap.
Earlier this summer, Worland mounted a one-woman gleaning
campaign, trying to play matchmaker between property owners with
more fruit than they were able to use and local food banks.
She was discouraged by a lack of response to fliers she put in food banks and other locations. But after her story ran Saturday in the Kitsap Sun, a church group from Central Kitsap joined Worland on Sunday and picked more than 150 pounds of apples and pears from trees at two locations. The group donated one box of fruit to North Kitsap Fishline and the rest to Central Kitsap Food Bank.
Marietta Nelson, who is the Kitsap Sun’s education reporter, was leader of the group. She said some of the kids were a little intimidated by some cows in the orchard. Nelson, an Iowa native, appointed a couple kids as cow chasers and reassured the others that the cows wouldn’t hurt them.
As for the condition of the fruit, “They weren’t perfect,” Nelson said. “There were little holes in them. I told Hoyt (Burrows, director of the CK food bank) well, they’re organic.”
Doris received an e-mail and several other calls from people who wanted to help. “I really appreciate it,” she said.
If you have fruit available for picking or if you want to help with the gleaning effort, call Doris at (253) 851-4303 or (253) 970-2047 or e-mail dorisforfoodbank@aol.com.
