Orange Pick Day Harvests More Than 3,500 Pounds of Oranges for a Good Cause

  • Orange pickers grabbing oranges for those in need on CSUN's Orange Pick Day, in June 2018.

    Volunteers harvest Valencia oranges from the CSUN Orange Grove for Food Forward, in June 2018. CSUN's Institute for Sustainability and Food Forward have worked together to harvest oranges for those in need since 2010. Photo by David J. Hawkins.

  • Volunteers picking citrus fruit from the CSUN Orange Grove for charity.

    Volunteers harvest Valencia oranges for Food Forward. CSUN's Institute for Sustainability and Food Forward have have worked together to harvest oranges for those in need since 2010. Photo by David J. Hawkins.

  • A box of several oranges picked and harvested from the CSUN Orange Grove, for local charities.

    Just one of the 3,500 pounds of oranges that were harvested from CSUN's Orange Pick day in June 2018. Photo by David J. Hawkins.

  • Food Forward representative Jason Landers speaking with volunteers and community members at the most recent CSUN Orange Pick Day.

    Jason Landers of Food Forward provides information at the CSUN Orange Pick Day, in June 2018. Photo by David J. Hawkins.

  • Orange Pick volunteers moving boxes of oranges to send them off to local food charities.

    CSUN Orange Pick volunteers move orange boxes to send them off to local charities. Photo by David J. Hawkins.

  • A group photo of the Orange Pick volunteers and community members at CSUN's Orange Pick Day in June 2018.

    Community volunteers gather for CSUN Orange Pick Day in June 2018. Photo by David J. Hawkins.

CSUN’s Institute for Sustainability ​and the nonprofit Food Forward have teamed up for the past nine years to provide Valencia oranges from the grove to those who are food insecure in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. ​Food Forward fights hunger and prevents food waste by collecting fresh surplus produce.

In June, more than 100 volunteers came to the grove on the south side of campus to help out, picking more than 3,500 pounds in two hours. The fruit was donated to three local agencies: Project Angel Food, SOVA Community Food & Resource Program, and the Family Rescue Center. ​

“From a sustainability perspective, the orange picks tie in to a lot of things we are passionate about, like addressing food insecurity and reducing food waste,” said Sarah Johnson, sustainability program analyst at the CSUN Institute for Sustainability. “Through these picks, we are able to harvest produce that would have otherwise gone to waste and feed the community with fresh, locally grown fruit.”

Jason Landers, the Los Angeles harvest coordinator for Food Forward, said that working with CSUN has blossomed into a wonderful partnership between the two organizations. ​

For more information about volunteer opportunities and information about the Institute for Sustainability, please visit https://www.csun.edu/sustainability. For more information about Food Forward, please visit https://foodforward.org.

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