Volunteer Newsletter July 1, 2025
Palo Alto Plum Orchard Harvest
Upcoming Harvest Schedule
 

Happy July!

Village Harvest is operating on a reduced schedule this summer as staff members and harvest organizers are away, but we still have opportunities to help others, learn, and have fun:

• On Tuesday July 15 and Tuesday July 29, volunteer teams will be harvesting fruits of the season from home gardens in the greater San Jose area.
  
  What will the groups pick? It might be summer citrus, maybe plums or peaches, or perhaps the earliest ripening apples - we're fortunate to have an incredible variety of fruit in the Bay Area! 
   
• On Saturday July 26 we'll be harvesting an unusual 20 tree Mariposa plum orchard hiding in plain sight at a corporate office campus in Palo Alto.

Details and sign up links for these harvests are below. Spaces are limited, and depending on the demand, events may only be open for only 24 hours for volunteers to submit requests. We will notify volunteers of their status by the end of this week.

In our only large apricot orchard harvest this year, 30 lucky volunteers had a great time picking a big 1,200 pounds of apricots on June 21 at an old orchard in Palo Alto. The fruit was passed on to St. Anthony's Padua Dining Room and pantry in Menlo Park to be distributed to thousands.

There were almost 180 volunteers who signed up within 24 hours, and with such overwhelming response our organizers selected volunteers by lottery. We thank everyone for their understanding.

For an early July fruit fix, you can pick your own cherries at Lazy K Cherry Ranch in Gilroy (U-Pick, family friendly, plans to stay open through July 5) and check out Andy's Orchard (they-pick) in Morgan Hill. (Check websites for the latest info.)

Thanks for helping the community through Village Harvest.

Craig Diserens

Executive Director
craig@villageharvest.org
 

---

Palo Alto Plum Orchard Harvest

The top photo shows a young volunteer surrounded by plums at this hidden orchard where much of the fruit is reachable from the ground. We also gently shake the plums off of high branches onto a tarp, a volunteer favorite technique.

Sign up for this harvest through the link in the table or on the Events calendar. Depending on how many responses are received, this event may only be open for sign up requests for 24 hours.

• Sign ups are not first-come-first-served, and we generally give priority to and select people who haven't been able to get into a harvest most recently or are waiting the longest to get into their first harvest. (Volunteer FAQ).
• Please keep your sign up request within the Maximum Party Size and Minimum Age limits for the event to be considered.
• We're harvesting the fruit to help people in need in the community, but they'll be fruit seconds for volunteers to take home (including extra-ripe soft fruit that's perfect for jam).