If you have been a Fruit Share member before, you may notice a key difference between how picks have been run in the past versus how it is on Fruit Connect. Fruit owners now have the ability to indicate whether or not the date and time of a pick is flexible. For example, pick dates can span over a week instead of being on one specific day and time. Here’s why we’ve implemented Flexible Picks with Fruit Connect.
In the past, Fruit Share would try to coordinate one pick so a small group of volunteers could pick together at the same time. It meant that fruit owners had to pinpoint a certain date and time for picks and volunteers would need to sign up for that specific time. This approach encouraged group picks and allowed pickers to get to meet others and work together. We found this especially useful for large, bountiful trees.
However, this approach did have its drawbacks. Fruit owners could only set one date and time, if no one was available for that specific time, the fruit often went unpicked or became too ripe by the time a second posting could be coordinated. Fruit owners repeatedly told us they simply want the fruit picked and would prefer more flexibility in when picks could happen.