Fallen Fruit Rescue Society

I read with great interest in the Calgary Herald about Adrian Buckley who started the Fallen Fruit Rescue Society after he noticed all the fallen fruit left unused in yards this time of year. He came up with a great idea of contacting the homeowners who obviously didn’t want the fruit and asked permission to come harvest the fruit. The Calgary Urban Harvest Project now has 700 homes registered in Calgary and volunteers go and harvest the fruit. One third goes to the home owner (if they want it), one third to the Food Bank and one third to the volunteers. What a great idea and this can be done anywhere.

Mr. Buckley says “I am dedicating my life to a society where things don’t get wasted” and I certainly recognize this desire as I have been trying very hard to cut down on our waste. Reading the book “American Wasteland” by Jonathan Bloom pointed out how terribly wasteful our society is and how we need to think about what we throw out.

So if you don’t have a garden find someone who does and offer to help in exchange for fresh produce. I found several apples trees and I have been making apple sauce every day last week and is now definitely going to have to buy a small freezer to store all the fresh fruit I now have.

I have perfected apple sauce during the last two weeks. I quickly rinse and de-stem the fruit and throw about 8 pounds in a large pot with 3 cups of water and 2 cinnamon sticks. Let it simmer for an hour, stirring frequently and enjoy the wonderful smell of apples and cinnamon which will fill your house. Add 5 table spoons of sugar and mash it through a sieve, pack 3 cups in a freezer bag and store flattened in your freezer.

I use apple sauce in porridge, warmed up on pancakes and serve it with pork dishes. Apple sauce is also a great snack with a couple of table spoons of vanilla yogurt.

If you have any comments or questions, contact me at ullameredith@gmail.com