About the Program:

The goal of the Fruit Gleaning Program at Urban Bounty is to harvest surplus produce from urban fruit trees in Richmond and redistribute the bounty with volunteers and community partners. Our program collects fruit from public lands or registered residential backyards and shares the bounty with volunteers and community partners. Our goal is to reduce food waste through redistributing fresh, unused fruit to Richmond residents and transforming the relationship participants have with their local food system. In the past we have partnered with local organizations and programs such as the Richmond Food Bank, Raincity Housing, and Storeys Cafe.

The program began in 2001 as the Richmond Fruit Tree Sharing Project, then grew into The Sharing Farm, and was taken over by Urban Bounty in 2004. With the support of dozens of volunteers and fruit tree owners, we have collected and redistributed over 50,000 lbs. of fruit since 2004.

Interested in participating?

We are seeking fruit tree owners and volunteers! Sign up below to come harvest with us.

Volunteer:

Benefits as a volunteer fruit gleaner include:

  • Getting outside and exercising
  • Learning about local fruit varieties
  • Meeting other friendly, like-minded community members
  • Experiencing new parts of Richmond

And of course, getting some free organic fruit for all your hard work!

We have two volunteer positions available: Fruit Gleaner and Gleaning Captain. Click each link to find the full position descriptions and see which position suits your abilities best.

Excited to get involved? Fill out an application.

Fruit Tree Owner:

For fruit tree owners, the benefits include:

  • Reducing food waste
  • Redistributing much-needed fruit to those in need
  • Clean and tidy trees
  • Fruit picked for free!

If you are a fruit owner please fill out the form HERE to have your fruit added to our list of potential picks. Please contact us well before your fruit tree is ripe, we schedule picks ahead of time and would like to accommodate as many people as possible. If we are unable to set up a pick for you this year, we will still take your information for the next season.