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Me and My Loquats

7/25/2015

37 Comments

 
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Despite the epic drought here, a lot of us, including yours truly, still have fruit trees in our back yards.     

In fact, while my own property was crazy overgrown with bamboo when I moved in, the previous owners had also, thankfully, made other, and better, tree choices. 

There’s a pair of avocado trees (although, sadly, not Haas); a produces-when-it-feels-like-it guava, and a lovely canopying fig tree that the sparrows and hummingbirds usually pick clean every summer.  Five years ago, I also planted a lime tree which finally began bearing fruit last spring (perfect for guacamole and limeade), although two different lemon trees, planted in two different locations, have decided that life is better in Tree Heaven.

Then there’s my loquat (LOW-quat). 

By far the tallest—at least 20 feet high—sturdiest and shadiest tree in the backyard, it wasn’t in fruit-making mode when I first arrived.    

But since the leaves look nearly identical to the ones on an avocado, I assumed it was just a different variety of the two trees I already had.  So when the little orange fruits appeared, I was stumped.  I took a couple to our local farmer’s market for someone to identify; there, a vendor practically inhaled them before informing me they were loquats.

Like the vendor, I now know that lots of people love these fuzzy little guys. 

Around the same size, color and sweetness of an apricot (but way too light for juggling), loquat aficionados eat them right off the tree.  I’ve also heard that loquat jelly is to die for, and that they make an awesome marinade for pork roast, too.  A quick Google search turned up many other recipes, including cobblers, chutneys and pies.   

Yes, there are amazing, remarkable and yummy dishes that require loquats. 

But because I do not like loquats, do not like them at all, I will now make a terrible confession: every year, I’ve let my loquats fall to the ground, and then rot.

This season, however, needed to be different.

That’s because, when I looked out from my sliding glass office door to the tree, I saw hundreds—no, make it thousands—of luscious, ripe loquats.  Maybe it’s our lack of rain, or maybe it’s Mother Nature just wanting to have its way with me, but I knew that I just couldn’t let this fruit all fall down.  Okay, doing so would create a big mushy mess to clean up, but I was also beginning to feel more than a bit guilty about the incredible waste.

I mentioned this dilemma to a friend of mine, who offered the perfect solution.

“Don’t you know?” she said.  “There’s a group of people who will harvest your tree for free.  They take it to the county food bank and distribute it.”

Such a statement seemed too good to be true, but in fact, it is true.

This sort of harvesting is called gleaning, and as it turns out, has been around since Biblical times.

Now making a comeback in the last few years (if so inclined, here’s an NPR story on the practice, at www.npr.org/2011/01/20/133059889/gleaning-a-harvest-for-the-needy-by-fighting-waste), gleaning is the act of collecting leftover crops from farmers’ fields after they have been commercially harvested, or collecting crops from fields where it is not economically profitable to harvest. 

Indeed, in the Old Testament, farmers are actually told to not pick their fields clean, but to leave the edges for orphans, widows and travelers, making the practice an early form of helping the poor.  Today, with gleaning being more about preventing would-be waste, there are hundreds of gleaning organizations across the country.     

Luckily for me, there’s Glean SLO (www.gleanslo.org), which believes that no harvest, not even from a one loquat tree, is too small to cart away. Soon, I was on the phone with a volunteer, who directed me to its web site. 

“Okay, now click on ‘Donate Your Crap,’” she said. 

“Uh, excuse me?”

“Donate Your Crop.”

Oh, right.  After filling out the requested information, I received a call back, and five days later, two cheerful gleaners named Jeanine and Shay arrived.  Carting at least half a dozen empty cardboard boxes, two very tall ladders, cutters and picking poles, they clearly knew all about this tree stripping business. 

They were also told that not only was there an extremely bountiful crop in my backyard, but several other meandering branches, all weighed down with hundreds more loquats, extended into the yards of two neighbors. Thanks to these homeowners graciously allowing the gleaners access to their properties as well, it looked like Glean SLO was going to end up with a pretty good loquat haul. 

Jeanine and Shay began to work quickly and efficiently, and l left to meet a friend.

That afternoon, Jeanine sent me this text:  she and Shay had harvested—wait for it--95 pounds of loquats.   

As it happened, the day of my one-tree harvest was also the day that our local food bank was distributing food at a nearby school, so those orange babies were grabbed just an hour or two after they were picked.  For those who may not know, about one in five children in our country live in households that struggle to put food on the table every day. So, being able to provide fresh fruit on a giveaway day gave me a very, very good feeling. 

Loquats might be a darn good fruit after all.    

What do you do with food that would otherwise go to waste?  What about other items that you just can’t use anymore?  I look forward to hearing from you!    

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37 Comments
Larry Grant
7/25/2015 06:47:35 am

I'm very glad you wrote this! There are so many ways to share, help and not waste.

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Hilary
7/25/2015 07:54:53 am

And, I am so grateful to those volunteers--who gave both their time and expertise! :)

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George Marshall link
7/25/2015 07:08:13 am

I watched the plums fall from a neighbor's tree this year. Every day I thought they would be picking as they had in the past.
One day I looked and they were all on the ground . There is some very deep and sad and ancestral feeling to see this. Waste of food.. At a time when I was much younger I was working as a fry cook in a cafe. Not such a prestigious position. There was a man from India who was the dish washer called Persad. Persad was not his name he said but an abbreviation of his village name. His own name would not be pronounceable in English. A village in India said Persad is not like it would be thought of here but may be 100,000 people.
He said, "George, what you are doing here is very important. You are an important man. You are feeding people."
I was slinging burgers and making sure the fries were not overly soaked in oil. It wasn't a job that required great knowledge or expert skill but Persads view put it in a whole other light. I was feeding people.

You have done a noble thing Hilary. You have fed people.

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Hilary
7/25/2015 07:59:21 am

Ohhhh, what a wonderful story about Persad. But I'm sorry to hear about those wasted plums! Maybe you can go over to your neighbor's house next year and if they have no plans to pick the fruit, pick it yourself. And, thank you for calling me noble; I really don't feel I deserve that moniker. Rather, I think all of the gleaning organizations out there are WAY nobler than me. Still, at least I was able to offer the harvest for them to take. :)

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Susan Jordan
7/25/2015 04:37:22 pm

I agree with George (and Persad) too! Serving your fellow humans (as well as animals and our world itself) may be unsung, but it is also deeply valuable.

Margaux link
7/25/2015 07:19:47 am

I've heard of gleaning before and think it's a fabulous offering, especially because much of the food gleaned feeds people that might otherwise go hungry. Plus, no food goes to waste. As a baker and cook, as are you, Hilary, I know you share my disgust at any food gone to garbage when it is not necessary. I'd rather shop everyday than buy food on a whim that will just sit in my fridge and waste. Good for you, this gleaning, and how you've benefited those that enjoy the fruit! It is win-win for all involved. : )

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Hilary
7/25/2015 08:02:59 am

Soooo much food goes to waste in our country. It's just heartbreaking. I see students in cafeterias just dumping perfectly good food in the trash, and supermarkets are BAD. Do you know that there are actually dumpster diving food sites? I've heard that the right "diver" can create some wonderful stews and soups. Luckily, I don't need to use this skill right now, but it's nice to know that it exists. :)

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Bev Praver link
7/25/2015 09:28:43 am

I haven't had any food to "harvest" for years. But when we lived in SoCal we grew vegetables in the back yard. We ate them all except when we traded some zucchini to the man next door in return for some fish he had caught cleaned and filleted! We both felt we got the best end of that deal. As you know, I take care of non-food items that are still usuable by posting them on freecycle.org.

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Hilary
7/25/2015 09:52:37 am

My parents had a small backyard garden, too. The rhubarb grew like a weed and that's what I miss most! As I think you know, Larry's parents had a small apple orchard, and they traded with neighbors who had chickens and eggs. I love this kind of bartering. And yes, I love Freecycle! :)

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Keith Cornell
7/25/2015 09:34:01 am

Great story. I don't know anything about loquats, but I love the sharing lessons!

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Hilary
7/25/2015 09:53:23 am

I don't think there's a middle ground with the lowly loquat. You either love 'em or hate 'em. :)

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Lorraine Dansky
7/25/2015 10:31:36 am

Wonderful how you were able to donate your crop of loquats! Growing up as a NYC gal, I don't have any farming experience. These days, my husband cultivates flowers but he has never grown produce. I try not to overbuy fresh food and just purchase what we need to eat. I donate canned foods to a local food bank (seems like we always wind up with extra stuff, that is still fresh but neither of us wants). As far as clothing and hard goods, we have a local Goodwill where we periodically donate.

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Hilary
7/25/2015 04:25:24 pm

I never knew I *could* donate until I was moaning and groaning about all of the loquats I would never eat! I'm so glad I was in the right place at the right time to have my friend tell me about gleaning. She didn't even know there was a name for it, just that "some group" could pick it for me and take it to the food bank. :) We also donate to a local thrift store. :)

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Laura Werth Dickerson
7/25/2015 12:16:57 pm

We had a loquat tree in our backyard in Long Beach. I have thought of them often over the years. I never see them in a store. Mom usually made jam out of them. Mom made jam and they were good to eat off the tree, warm from the sun.

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Hilary
7/25/2015 04:27:06 pm

I bet you can still see the jam and/or jelly in specialty stores or order them from some exotic place! I can't imagine eating them off the tree, but again, I'm not a fan. :)

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Peggy Pavek
7/25/2015 02:59:46 pm

This is such a great idea! Why leave perfectly good fruit on trees to just rot when there are so many hungry people in our area!

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Hilary
7/25/2015 04:27:50 pm

I know! It was a great teaching lesson for me! I plan to donate next year's harvest as well. :)

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Susan Jordan
7/25/2015 04:40:27 pm

I was only a little way into the article when I was about to suggest donating the loquats to a local food bank...when you already did that! Yaaaay, Hilary! now I'll have to actually try one one of these days, lol.

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Hilary A Grant
7/25/2015 05:10:16 pm

If you like a mushier apricot, you'll like them. This is weird, but... I *love* apricot jam but can't stand raw apricots... so that means that if I come across some loquat jam and/or jelly, I would probably eat it out of the jar with a spoon. :)

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Jackie C.
7/25/2015 08:12:43 pm

Sharing the bounty...what a fab idea! Never heard of loquats before. Are they a cross between an apricot and something else? It must be wonderful to walk out to your backyard and pick fresh fruit for the day, and then give away the rest.

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Hilary
7/26/2015 04:41:55 am

I think loquats are a mushy fruit all to themselves! And, I'm starting to think that they are much more common here on the West Coast and maybe in a more tropical environment as well. I *do* pick my limes, but that's about it. However, a friend has a VERY bountiful lemon tree and HAAS avocado tree, and if it's the season and I'm at his house, he lets me take a entire paper bag full of these babies home!

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kerri
7/26/2015 03:00:42 am

Terrific post. Glad you are talking about this issue of food poverty and waste. I myself have been to the local food bank on many occasions. Thanks for your thoughtful generosity.

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Hilary
7/26/2015 04:44:52 am

My parents volunteered at a food bank after my dad retired and they brought goodies home. He was on a small pension and we NEEDED that food. Also, the big food bank (at Mountainbrook Church) uses volunteers with cognitive challenges to help sort the food, which is another wonderful thing for the community at large. :)

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Katie Franklin link
7/26/2015 03:03:09 am

Hi Hillary! I have participated in one of the local gleans and found out about this not too long ago through friends of my family. It was a really fun day and we got to bring home lots of produce for my own family after harvesting for the community!! It was sooooo cool! I went with 2 girl friends who I don't hang out with that much and we made a fun girl date out of it! And I am all about this sort of thing! My major in UCSC was community studies and I started the recycling program at my college while I attended there (Oakes at UCSC) so I am glad you are getting the word out about this!! awesome!! Loved hearing about your tree and how it works for us on that end of things as well!!!

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Hilary
7/26/2015 04:47:49 am

We really ALL are a village raising ourselves, and not just with children. A Place at the Table is a TERRIFIC documentary about hunger in America. It will surprise you. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1736049/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_1

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Deidra Huntley
7/26/2015 05:48:37 am

Loved the story! Gleaning, I like that, no wasting and helping others. Serves a great purpose for those who give and those who need. God's kind of works isn't it. We always had a huge garden growing up. Gave away a lot of veggies to friends and neighbors. As I got older I started canning and gave fresh veggies and canned goods to a lot of the elderly and those in need. Glad you posted this Hilary.

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Hilary
7/26/2015 06:56:27 am

My mom made tons of jam every year from our apricot tree; sometimes, she would get plums and would make jam out of that as well, plus strawberry jam, too! In fact, growing up, I rarely recall seeing jam from a grocery store in our frig. Canning veggies is also very popular in the Midwest... not so much out here. Yet. :)

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Jamie Lewis link
7/27/2015 11:11:03 am

I love this story Hillary! What a perfect example of figuring out how to share something that you don't necessarily need or like, but that you are sure someone else will! Happy that your harvest went to feed people who really needed it! Nice to be part of your village ;)

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Hilary
7/27/2015 12:53:25 pm

Yes... we can all help each other, in so many ways, as we go through our life's journey. :)

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Debbie Smith, MM link
7/27/2015 01:02:37 pm

I have to say this is the first I've heard of the loquat. I've heard of a kumquat, I'm not sure what it is , and we had an incredible apricot tree years ago the produced lots of yummy apricots but way too many for our family and friends to consume. I wish Glean SLO would was around way back then.

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Hilary
7/27/2015 03:57:57 pm

I'd never heard of them either! We also had an incredible apricot tree where I grew up in Long Beach. In fact, my very first memory took place standing under that tree. My mom made tons of jam from the tree, as well as pies... and we still had a lot to give away. : )

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leslie spoon
7/28/2015 08:54:56 am

Hilary I am glad you wrote about this. I hope more people will contact them for their fruit trees. Growing up my Dad`s family always had fruit trees. They were from Croatia and if you were going to have trees then they better produce something good to eat!

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Hilary
7/28/2015 12:34:55 pm

I think it's more than just being from Europe... pretty much all of my parents' friends had fruit trees in their back yards, so, it's also a generational thing. In any case, I'm glad the tradition in still around in our little town :)

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Jim Nolt
7/28/2015 12:42:19 pm

I have friends who always have more tomatoes than they know what to do with. I shall pass this along.

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Hilary
7/28/2015 02:27:04 pm

Thanks, Jim. There seem to be gleaning groups everywhere! If the friends who have a bounty of tomatoes can't find a gleaning organization in their area, though, I suggest they call the nearest food bank, or even a church that gives away food. These days, especially, we should all be part of an active village that helps each other. These acts alone make us better than we would have been otherwise :)

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Kim Fonturbel
8/8/2015 08:26:56 am

Another GREAT article Hilary! Love it! Super useful information.
Thank You for writing it. <3 Kim

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Hilary
8/8/2015 09:26:08 am

Yup. I mean, who knew? So glad I do now! :)

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    Hilary Roberts Grant

    Journalist, editor, filmmaker, foodie--and a clown! 
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