All this growth, our experience last summer and your feedback and comments have led us to re-examine and make some changes to our daily operations and our harvest scheduling system. Our goal is to rescue and share surplus fruit as effectively and efficiently as possible using a volunteer force. To that end, here’s an update as to what we’re doing, where we’re at and what you can expect in the next few months.
First and foremost, we are working with a WordPress system developer to build a new scheduling system. We’re committed to a system that will:
- be automated so it is more manageable for the volunteers and summer staff coordinating the harvests now and in the future (Aug 2012)
- ensure volunteer privacy (not having to share names and emails publicly) (Aug 2012)
- ensure fruit owner privacy (only providing detailed info to confirmed volunteers and administrators (currently done)
- provide sufficient information (date, time, postal code, size of fruit plant, number of volunteers required, and equipment recommended) to enable volunteers to choose an appropriate pick for them (Aug 2012)
- allow a predictable and manageable time frame for coordinators to receive, schedule, post and confirm picks (July 2012)
- Harvest requests from fruit owners due Wednesdays, Picks sent to volunteers on Thursdays, confirmations sent on Tuesday, picking from Tuesday to Sunday. (July 2012)
- ensure picks are equally accessible to all volunteers (currently relying on volunteer’s honour system to only sign up once per unique fruit and once per week will automate for May 2013)
- give Fruit Share volunteers involved in the planning, promotion, growth, volunteer development, community education and crab apple picking the first opportunity to picks of premium fruit (cherries, rhubarb, raspberries, grapes, saskatoons, etc.) (May 2013, based on info from 2012)
- rely on greater communication and coordination of each pick between confirmed volunteers (coordinating equipment needs, transportation, composting, donations, and reporting back to Fruit Share ) (Aug 2012)
- eliminate the need for the Doodle schedules (Doodle has served us well, but we’ve grown beyond its capabilities).
To set up this new system, we need you to re-register with Fruit Share by Wednesday August 8.
Fruit Owners re-register HERE
Volunteers re-register HERE
Not interested in volunteering anymore? Please go to our website and subscribe (top right) to receive updates on Fruit Share as we grow.
Along with the system changes, we’re also working on a new volunteer development program, website updates, fundraising ideas, several community events and workshops and an event to help us use all those crab apples. You’ll be hearing more from us soon!
– The Fruit Share Team
I just registered and for got to tell you my crab apples are ready now and falling of the tree 20 a day! Hope you contact me soon. Last year you never came and I had to throw them all out! Thanks Jacqueline
Hi Jacqueline,
You’ll have to fill in a harvest request form under the fruit owner page to initiate the scheduling process. We send out notices of harvests to our volunteers every Thursday. The volunteers then get to choose what works best for them. While they do their best, there are only so many trees they can pick.