photo: Jamie Manser
Spring has sprung and perhaps you are wondering what you should do with that bountiful harvest in your back yard - or your neighbors for that matter. Are the citrus, loquats, and figs beginning to become over ripe or is your winter garden going to seed? What to do with the excess?
There is an organization here in Tucson that gleans this food for the local community to the tune of over 70,000 pounds per year. Iskash*taa (it means “working cooperatively together”) is a non-profit that works with local refugees in Tucson to harvest this excess and use it to feed the community.
Started in 2003 as a resource for refugees from Somalia the organization has grown to service the individual needs of all of Tucson’s refugee groups, which include folks from Iraq, Burma, Rwanda, Bhutan and Burundi.
The local harvesting is a great way to use nutritious food that would normally end up in a landfill or compost pile. This all-volunteer organization will send refugees to harvest your bounty. The fruit and produce are used to feed other refugees and is redistributed to Tucson organizations that assist families in need such as the Community Food Bank, Gospel Rescue Mission and the Noor Woman’s Association.
If you think your excess fruits and vegetables could be consumed by those in need through out our community contact Iskash*taa at www.FruitMappers.org. They can assist in harvesting and distributing the food you grow to others.
