Residents are asked to share their harvest

Lucette Moramarco

Associate Editor

Fallbrook Food Pantry is looking to recruit more volunteers with a new program that expands the amount of donated produce the pantry can provide its clients. The pantry already involves many residents as volunteers in its mission to provide a nutritious diet to people in need. While many residents work to collect, organize and distribute food, supporters want residents to know that the pantry can use any extra fruit they may have on the trees in their yards.

The new program is called FRESH, Fallbrook residents enjoying shared harvest.

According to case manager and volunteer coordinator Nancy Rocha, area residents constantly drop off produce from their properties; she said over 800 pounds came in on Friday, April 1. Since Fallbrook is an agricultural area, with countless gardens and groves, the food pantry wants everyone to know more fruit and vegetables can always be put to good use.

Stephanie Holbrook of Wings of Change has spearheaded the effort to recruit more donations of that extra produce and of any extra eggs from people's chickens. She is encouraging neighbors and friends to take bags of fresh fruit or cartons of eggs to the pantry, 140 N. Brandon Road, as they pick them. Donations are accepted Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Saturdays 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Anyone who is unable to pick the fruit themselves can contact the food pantry, 760-728-7608, to schedule volunteers to come do the picking. Holbrook said those volunteers include Camp Pendleton Service Hours, the Boy Scouts, D'Vine Path and the community.

In addition, Wings of Change will be accepting donations of fresh food at the Saturday Fallbrook Farmers Market on Main Avenue, 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., April 16 and May 14.

For those not growing produce at home, monetary donations are always welcome. For more information on the Fallbrook Food Pantry and its services, visit https://www.fallbrookfoodpantry.org/.