For Tree Owners

Information for Tree Owners

Community Fruit Rescue is a non-profit organization that harvests excess fruit and donates it to local agencies who then provide it to food insecure individuals around Boulder County. Our community harvests also help to discourage wildlife like black bears from coming into Boulder’s urban areas.

We harvest:

Fruit from your backyard!
Fruit from public lands
Leftover or bypassed fruit from local orchards

Some examples of fruit we harvest:

Apples
Pears
Plums
Peaches
Grapes
Cherries

We do not harvest:

Crab Apples (Malus coronaria)
Non Edible Fruits

What happens to the fruit?
Tree owners register their fruit trees to be harvested and can keep 1/3 of the bounty. The volunteer pickers who sign up to harvest those trees can take 1/3 of the fruit home with them, and the remaining 1/3 is donated to people in need.

SCHEDULE YOUR HARVEST

Did you know?
CFR is a small non-profit that relies on the generosity of our volunteers and supporters. If you are able to make a donation of $50-200 per harvest (depending on size and number of trees), we’d greatly appreciate it!

donate today

How it works

For now, our resources limit us to harvesting trees that are inside Boulder's city limits. Due to high demand, we are scheduling harvests on a first-come, first-served basis.

Follow these steps if you are NEW to Community Fruit Rescue:

Please start by filling out this form to register your fruit tree(s).
Once your form is submitted, click here to request the harvest date/time that works best for you and ensures your fruit will be ripe.*
Our Harvest Coordinator will follow up to either confirm or discuss your harvest request in a separate email and provide further instruction. We will also ask you to provide photos, a video, or do a quick video chat with us. This will allow our team to determine how many volunteers are needed, and also confirm that the fruit will be ripe.

If you have already registered your fruit tree(s) with us in the past:

You don’t need to fill out our tree registration form again. Hooray!
Please click here to request your harvest date.* Once your calendar booking is submitted, our Harvest Coordinator will follow up via email to either confirm or discuss your harvest request.
We will also ask you to provide photos, a video, or do a quick video chat with us. This will allow our team to determine how many volunteers are needed, and also confirm that the fruit will be ripe.

*If you are unable to find a day/time that works best with your schedule and peak ripeness, please contact harvest@fruitrescue.org to discuss.

How to tell when your fruit is ready to be picked

Please follow these steps to determine when your fruit will be ripe or ready to be picked. Please note that Community Fruit Rescue will not harvest unripe fruit and reserves the right to cancel harvests if the fruit is deemed premature. Need help? Contact harvest@fruitrescue.org.

Apples: Cut the apple open and if the seeds are brown and the fruit tastes sweet, it’s ripe.
Pears: Pears should be harvested when fully formed, but not ripe.
Plums: Plums tend to be darker in color, have a powdery appearance, and are softer to the touch.
Peaches: Peaches should no longer be green in appearance, still be fairly firm, but have a slight give when pressed.
Grapes: When ripe, the stems and grape seeds will be brown. The grapes should taste sweet.
Cherries: The fruit should be firm and fully colored. Sour cherries will come off the stem when they are ripe, while sweet cherries should be tasted for maturity.

Coexisting with Bears

Thanks to a grant from Colorado Parks & Wildlife, we are launching a new wildlife coexistence program to help Boulder residents reduce conflicts with urban black bears.

If you are experiencing bear activity on your property, please contact bears@fruitrescue.org immediately so we can get that fruit removed from your tree! If the bear is currently on your property and requires assistance, please the City of Boulder's dispatch line: 303-441-3333 Option #8. Wildlife Officers can provide support that will help protect the bears and local community, such as hazing, removing attractants, calling Bearsitter volunteers to keep an eye on the bear, and more.

Learn more

Food donors may be eligible for tax deductions or tax credits and will receive documentation of crop types and amounts to submit with tax returns.

Protection

We properly train, supervise and hold liability coverage for all volunteers who harvest with us.

Federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act - In 1996, President Clinton signed this act to encourage donation of food and grocery products to non-profit organizations for distribution to individuals in need. This law:

Protects you from liability when you donate to a non-profit organization;
Protects you from civil and criminal liability should the product donated in good faith later cause harm to the recipient;
Standardizes donor liability exposure. You or your legal counsel do not need to investigate liability laws in 50 states; and
Sets a floor of "gross negligence" or intentional misconduct for persons who donate grocery products. According to the new law, gross negligence is defined as "voluntary and conscious conduct by a person with knowledge (at the time of conduct) that the conduct is likely to be harmful to the health or well-being of another person."

For more information: Feeding America.