Community Grown on Trees: The Journey of 154,000 lbs of Apples

Last July, after 88 years in operation, the BC Tree Fruits cooperative announced its closure. By late October, orchards across the region still had apples hanging on their branches — fruit that would go unpicked, with farmers unable to get it to market.

This unfortunate event added more challenges to another hard year for fruit growers in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. Throughout the spring, unseasonable warmth followed by sudden deep freezes devastated soft fruit crops like grapes, peaches, nectarines, pears, plums and cherries. In recent years, wildfires, extreme heat and prolonged drought — like the 2021 heat dome — have reduced fruit yields. At the same time, tough market conditions have forced local producers to compete with lower-priced American imports.

To prevent the (literal) fruits of our farmers’ labour from going to waste, Second Harvest stepped in. With funding support from Farm Credit Canada (FCC), we were able to purchase the remaining apples from three Okanagan orchards impacted by the closure, ensuring farmers received a fair market price for their produce.  

With the cooperative's facilities no longer available, a united effort was required to make this fruit rescue a reality. Second Harvest worked closely with local farmers, packers, volunteers and non-profit partners across Western Canada to manage logistics for receiving, sorting, and shipping the apples.

As the harvest season neared its end and winter approached, the team moved quickly to distribute over 154,000 lbs of rescued apples to five non-profits in the Okanagan Valley and over ten others serving communities across Western Canada.  

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In these rural and remote areas, fresh produce is often out of reach due to high transportation costs. “Each and every community expressed their heartfelt thanks, as many indicated that fresh produce was so expensive, their families were doing without,” shared Jacqui Tucker from Kalum Community School Society in Terrace, BC. The group further distributed apples “throughout the northwest from Haida Gwaii, Prince Rupert, Stewart, Kitimat, and Smithers, as well as to the Indigenous communities of Kitsumkalum, Kitselas, Kitwanga, Gitanyow and the communities within the Nisga’a Nation.”

At the Metis Society in Northern BC, apples were shared with elders, Indigenous groups and families in need before becoming the focus of a community class where participants learned how to preserve them: making pie filling, canned apples and applesauce.

A school in Alberta shared that beyond enjoying the apples fresh, their students were “busy cooking away in our cooking class, making a variety of apple dishes from pies to crumbles to muffins and loving it!”

The Cold Lake Food Bank in Alberta included apples in their Christmas hampers, bringing freshness and comfort to the holiday season. “One young lady was thrilled to be able to make apple pies for her family,” they shared.  

It’s amazing to see what we can do when we come together. From the dedicated farmers who grew the apples, our passionate supporters who provided time, funding and logistical expertise, to the teachers baking with their students —everyone plays an important part in ensuring this season’s harvest was not lost but shared, nourishing our communities.