Mission
Community Fruit Rescue harvests and distributes the surplus urban fruit growing throughout Boulder, Colorado to reduce food waste, minimize greenhouse gas emissions, better coexist with local wildlife, build resilient communities, and increase equitable access to healthy, local food.
Vision
We envision a strong, collaborative, healthy, resilient, and just community in which everyone has access to healthy, local food, humans and wildlife coexist, and waste is minimized.
Impact
Since our inception in 2014 we have:
- Harvested more than 94,000 pounds of fruit
- Organized over 430 harvests
- Engaged more than 960 volunteers who have contributed thousands of hours of work
Where does the fruit go?
Community Fruit Rescue is dedicated to reducing food waste and promoting sustainability through our community harvests. Our primary goal is to provide fresh and healthy local fruit to food insecure individuals and families in the community; this is primarily done in partnership with our friends at Community Food Share and other mission-based organizations or schools upon request. Additionally, CFR’s volunteer pickers and tree stewards are welcome to take a share of the bounty after each harvest. CFR also reserves a small portion of the fruit to support our canning workshops, community events, and nonprofit fundraising efforts.
The fruit that is not suitable for human consumption but still edible for animals is distributed to nonprofit partners at the Wild Animal Sanctuary and Luvin' Arms Sanctuary. Lastly, fallen or rotting fruit is composted by placing it into the tree stewards’ curbside compost carts, which is then taken to the A1 Organics facility for composting. Since our establishment in 2014, our team has successfully diverted over 94,000 lbs of fruit from being wasted on the ground or sent to landfills - with more to come!
The fruit that is not suitable for human consumption but still edible for animals is distributed to nonprofit partners at the Wild Animal Sanctuary and Luvin' Arms Sanctuary. Lastly, fallen or rotting fruit is composted by placing it into the tree stewards’ curbside compost carts, which is then taken to the A1 Organics facility for composting. Since our establishment in 2014, our team has successfully diverted over 94,000 lbs of fruit from being wasted on the ground or sent to landfills - with more to come!
Experience a CFR harvest in less than two minutes!
Many thanks to CFR volunteer Camden Aguilar for creating this video!
Our Community Impact
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Community Food Share"At Community Food Share, we’re more than a food bank — we’re a neighbor and a friend who’s been part of the fabric of Boulder and Broomfield Counties for decades. We know that ending hunger in our communities requires collaboration. That’s why we greatly appreciate our partnership with Community Fruit Rescue as they provide Community Food Share with a bounty of just-picked apples and pears, that our participants love. With over 10,500 lbs of fruit already donated to our food bank and our local Partner Agencies this year, Community Fruit Rescue is committed to fighting against food insecurity for years to come." Photo © Caroline Colvin.
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Wild Animal SanctuaryWhile the majority of Community Fruit Rescue's harvested fruit is donated to humans in need, some of our other fruit recipients are much...furrier. Along with many other species, the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, CO houses approximately 117 Black Bears and over 83 Grizzly Bears that were rescued from illegal or abusive situations. And they require a lot of food and care! At each of our harvests, our team saves as much of the fruit as possible to prevent it from ending up in the landfill. Fruit that is slightly damaged or unripe is donated to the Wild Animal Sanctuary's bears, and we're pleased to report that we've donated more than 2,300 lbs of fruit this year! We’re also proud that our harvests remove a critical food attractant for Boulder's wild black bears, and instead support these rescue bears in Keenesburg.
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Heather, Boulder Tree StewardEarlier this season, Heather reached out to Community Fruit Rescue about a bear trying to access her trash and compost bins at her Newlands area home. Thankfully her bear-resistant bins held their own and the bear was unsuccessful, but Heather wanted to take further action to discourage the bear from coming back. CFR worked with Heather to schedule a harvest ASAP and our volunteers harvested over 80 lbs of apples from her tree that were then donated to people in need. Better yet, Heather and her family now have one less reason for bears to visit her property. Thank you, Heather, for taking action to protect Boulder's bears!
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Our History
In 2014, Community Fruit Rescue was formed by a coalition of 350 Colorado, Boulder Bear Coalition, Boulder Food Rescue and FallingFruit.org. While each group had a slightly different purpose for investing in CFR, the overlapping goal was to harvest and distribute the surplus urban fruit growing throughout the Boulder region to reduce food waste, minimize greenhouse gas emissions, protect wildlife, build resilient communities, and direct fresh food to people who need it. Today, Community Fruit Rescue continues as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
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