Neighborhood Fruit Picking Program Logo_

Orangevale, Fair Oaks, and surrounding areas are filled with beautiful backyard fruit trees and gardens. Through our volunteer-driven Fruit Picking Program, we help harvest surplus produce and distribute it through the Food Bank to our neighbors in need.

We are deeply grateful for a community that grows and gives so generously!

Sharing Local Abundance with Our Community

🌿 How the Program Works

Our Fruit Picking Program is entirely volunteer-run.

Because of this:

Picking availability depends on volunteer time and seasonal demand.
Requests are prioritized based on need, fruit type, location, and Food Bank capacity.
Not all requests can be approved.
Not all fruit or trees will necessarily be harvested.

In some cases:

We may only pick one tree out of several.
We may only be able to harvest for a limited amount of time.
We may prioritize certain types of fruit based on current Food Bank needs.

Our goal is to steward volunteer time wisely while ensuring fresh produce reaches local families.

🍊Request Help Picking Your Fruit

If you would like our team to consider harvesting fruit from your property, please complete the application below.

Submit Fruit Picking Request

Your application will include:

Type of fruit
Number of trees
Ripeness status
Accessibility details

Our team will review applications and follow up as scheduling allows.

Submitting a request does not guarantee approval or immediate harvest.

🍅 Drop-Off Donations
(No Application Needed)

Freshly harvested fruit and backyard-grown vegetables are welcome year-round.

You can drop off produce year round:

In front of the Food Bank office next to the large blue donation bin

Please ensure:

Produce is fresh and free of visible rot
Items are clean and ready for distribution

If you already have harvested produce, direct drop-off is the fastest way to get it to families.

❤️ Why Your Gift Matters

Every piece of locally grown fruit and vegetables helps us nourish our neighbors in need.

This program is a beautiful example of community caring for community. While our volunteer capacity may be limited, our gratitude is not.

Thank you for being part of this effort!

🌳 Want to Volunteer?

Farming is a team sport! Join our team and help us grow healthy, fresh vegetables for our neighbors.

Volunteers are invited to join the Fruit Picking Team when in season.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I pick my own fruit, but still share it? YES! That is a wonderful help! Depending on your location we may be able to arrange for pick up or it can be dropped off at the OVFO Food Bank anytime. Harvesting your own fruit gives us more time to harvest for our neighbors that are seniors or folks that have mobility issues. If you need to borrow a picker pole, please let us know and we may be able to lend you one! If you are physically able to, but don't want to, and are chosen as a picking site please make a financial donation to cover the time and expense of operating the program.

How do I know if my oranges are ripe? SO GLAD YOU ASKED! Just because they're orange, doesn't mean they're ready! Navel oranges can start getting ripe in December or January but often will taste better later in the season. They should be somewhat soft to the touch. They should taste sweet! Try one! Valencia oranges are ripe in the spring. Please, please, please taste your fruit before requesting that we come and harvest it.

Where does the fruit go? We directly distribute as much of the fruit as we can through the OVFO Food Bank, we also distribute through the Food Bank Farmstand to help fund our program, we also distribute to our community partners including the Orangevale Free Community Dinners.

What is the suggested donation for having our fruit harvested? Organizing and executing this program is a lot of work! To keep it going we ask that if you're able to, please consider making a donation to offset the time and resources it takes to make it happen. We understand that not everyone is in the same financial situation, so we've made these suggested guidelines. Any donation made is tax-deductible and no donation is required. $100 is suggested if you own your home, can travel internationally for fun, have savings and investments. $50 is suggested if you can meet your basic needs. Just a thank you is suggested if you're a single parent, you use EBT, cannot afford to take time off without financial burden, are an unpaid community organizer, or are on state disability insurance. If you are a senior or are physically unable to harvest the fruit please feel free to let us know and we will prioritize your tree.

Why wasn’t my tree approved? We prioritize based on volunteer availability, ripeness, location efficiency, and current Food Bank needs.

Can you trim or prune my tree? No - because this is a small, volunteer-driven harvest team, we are only able to pick fruit. We’re not able to provide pruning or tree maintenance services.