How did Fruit Share get Started?

Fruit Share started out of a love of fruit and dismay at seeing fresh, local fruit rotting on trees or waiting to be tossed out with the garbage.

The inspiration to create Fruit Share came to Getty Stewart after she read an article about volunteer fruit rescuing operations in cities like Vancouver, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, and Victoria.

In the spring of 2010, Getty started Fruit Share in her South Osborne neighbourhood. That first summer, 10 volunteers harvested over 1,600 pounds of fruit at 20 picks and calls started to come in from all over Winnipeg. By their second year, Fruit Share grew to a stunning 201 volunteers harvesting over 7,300 pounds of fruit from 153 registered fruit owners.

Watch Getty tell the story of Fruit Share at TEDxManitoba, February 2012.

Interested in starting your own Fruit Share? We’ve collected all our lessons and learnings in a document to share with other communities. Check it out.