Welcome Fruit Share Volunteers!

Whether you’re interested in picking fruit, preserving fruit, organizing events or delivering fresh fruit to others, we welcome you as a volunteer of Fruit Share. To get you started, here’s some general information about volunteering with Fruit Share.

Volunteer Sign-Up
Click here to complete ourVolunteer Form to register as a volunteer. Once we receive your form, we’ll contact you and fill you in on all the latest happenings at Fruit Share.

What is Fruit Share?
Fruit Share is dedicated to picking, sharing and enjoying fresh fruit growing in backyards throughout Winnipeg, Manitoba. We connect fruit owners with volunteer fruit pickers to make good use of all that delicious, nutritious local fruit. Fruit owners make their fruit available for picking, volunteers pick the fruit and then the fruit is shared – 1/3 to the homeowner, 1/3 to the volunteers and 1/3 to community organizations that can use the fruit (eg. Winnipeg Harvest, Agape Table, etc.). Everyone benefits!

Our Goals
While minimizing food waste is a major goal of the project, Fruit Share is also about fostering a sense of community and being conscientious about sustainable, local food systems. In short our goals are to:

• minimize food waste
• foster community
• promote local food production
• share resources
• share knowledge of food preservation and preparation

The Role of Fruit Share Volunteers
Volunteers are the driving force of Fruit Share – everyone here is a volunteer. No matter what your age, interest or ability, there is a place for you. Volunteers participate in:

• project scheduling
• project promotion
• website updates
• volunteer recruitment
• fruit owner recruitment
• fruit picking
• fruit delivery to community organizations
• fruit preserving/preparation
• fruit eating (everyone’s favourite task!)

Volunteer Requirements
1. Enthusiasm
Experience is optional – enthusiasm is not!
The tasks involved in Fruit Share are not difficult, you’ll learn everything you need to know in a matter of minutes. What we’re really looking for is enthusiasm and a desire to learn, teach and share. If you’ve got that, then we’ve got a spot for you.

2. Commitment
The success of this project depends on volunteers. The only thing that we ask is that if you agree to a picking shift, or to complete another task, we ask that you honour your commitment. If you can’t, please let us know ahead of time.

Volunteer Rewards
Volunteering with Fruit Share has great perks! As a volunteer you’ll get:

• fresh fruit – 1/3 of the fruit picked is shared between volunteers (including office or kitchen volunteers)
• fruit picking experience
• new friends
• fruit preparation and preserving experience
• new recipes
• the satisfaction of helping your community

Liability
All volunteers must sign a waiver form before beginning to pick. Fruit Share, the South Osborne Urban Community Cooperative and landowners are not responsible for personal injury. You will be asked to agree to the waiver on the volunteer sign-up form.

Contact Information
If you have any questions or ideas for Fruit Share, know someone with a fruit tree, or want to volunteer, please call us at 284-1234 or email us at [email protected].