City Fruit - Harvest and Distribution Summer Associate

City Fruit stewards and harvests from urban fruit trees to support sustainable and equitable access to fruit. We serve individuals and families in Seattle experiencing food insecurity by providing organic, local fruit that is often unavailable at food banks and meal programs. We harvest thousands of pounds of fruit from residential and public fruit trees and distribute this locally-grown fruit through partnerships with over 30 food banks, meal programs, elementary schools, and nonprofits that provide food to clients eligible for SNAP benefits. We also host Fruit-For-All free fruit farm stands at community centers and farmers markets in geographically diverse neighborhoods across Seattle, to distribute fruit directly to the public, during hours complementing food bank availability. We promote the stewardship of public orchards through our community and volunteer outreach events. Annually, we serve about 25,000 Seattle residents, harvesting 30,000-40,000 pounds of quality fruit from July to December. This AmeriCorps opportunity is a project of Harvest Against Hunger, which connects local growers, food banks, and volunteers to secure fresh produce for distribution to thousands of people throughout Washington State. The Harvest VISTA program finds innovative ways to decrease waste of fresh fruits and vegetables and increase the availability of nutritious produce for food bank clients. The Summer Associate program will work in an intensive level of summer service for 10 weeks.