Labor of Love

There are so many resources that exists within our community that would be thrown away if it were not for the inspiration and ingenuity of ordinary people who see a situation, get and idea and follow it through. This month, SJLA got to experience two organizations and that started just this way. We also met with some of the community leaders who have built and run these organizations to benefit thousands through out Santa Clara County who they may never meet. We first joined Village Harvest at a private residence for some backyard fruit picking.

Village Harvest is a nonprofit volunteer organization in Santa Clara Valley, California, which brings together neighbors and community organizations to provide food for the hungry, preserve our agricultural heritage and skills, and promote sustainable use of urban resources.

A backyard fruit tree usually produces far more fruit than a household can use themselves, and there is more than enough going to waste from our own backyards and farms to provide for our local community’s hungry. Village Harvest addresses this food distribution problem by organizing volunteer teams to harvest backyard fruit and donate it to charitable food agencies and organizations, by educating homeowners on fruit tree care and harvesting, and by providing education on food preservation such as making jams and preserves from home-grown fruit. Village Harvest's contribution to charitable food agencies has grown from 37,000 pounds in 2002 to well over 100,000 pounds today.

SJLA students worked along side volunteers from Village Harvest to pick and package 2500 lbs. of pounds of fruit in just a couple of hours! This is 20%of Village Harvests total fruit picked to date this year! They then helped load the fruit up at the residence and unload it at Second Harvest Food Bank.

After Village Harvest, we headed to Resource Area For Teachers (RAFT). RAFT is a non-profit organization that provides creative hands-on activities, educational resources, workshops and inexpensive materials, (many donated by local businesses), to enrich pre K-12 education and community group programs. SJLA students worked with RAFT staff and other volunteers to help sort and package donated material that are then sold to Bay Area teachers. Prices are greatly reduced because most materials are donated by Bay Area companies and repurposed for teachers through the work of volunteers. For more information take the VIDEO TOUR of RAFT.