Do you have too many zucchini or tomatoes? Or simply just have a fruit tree producing hundreds of fruits? And your neighbors and friends just can’t take them anymore? Food bank usually doesn’t take perishable items and in the heat of Utah, things don’t last long…
Here are some easy ways to give away-
1. Drop off at donation locations
If you live in Salt Lake City, Utah, there are some donation spots sponsored by Millcreek City and Waste Less Solutions.
Millcreek’s Produce Pal Cooler locations: only accept donations every Monday: 8am-5pm.
Garden Share program by Waste Less Solutions: a bigger service area in Northern Salt Lake area.
Both of them donate the produce to low-income or elderly families.
2. Share or trade with others online
People often post free fruits on FB market or gardening groups. If you want to avoid your inbox get flooded with hundreds of messages that don’t follow up, try Cultivate. It is a gardening-specific marketplace where you can share your produce with your close friend group only, or publicly. You also can list what you want and it will send you an email notification when there’s a match in your area.
Why give them away rather than let them rot or compost them?
When fruits are rotting, they generate methane and carbon dioxide (CO2), which are potent greenhouse gases. Methane is produced when organic matter decomposes without oxygen (anaerobic decomposition), which is common in landfills.
