Plenty Of Abundance In Wimbledon

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Come along to Abundance Fruit Day

A scheme to help local people harvest and share their fruit is asking fruit tree owners from around Wimbledon to get in touch.

Last year Abundance Wimbledon picked more than 1,000 kilos of fruit – apples, pears, cherries, berries, plums, damsons and quince.

Local charities - including Wimbledon Guild, the Asian Elderly Project and Home Start - were given more than 300 kilos in total to pass on to older people, young families, homeless people and others struggling to afford fresh fruit. The project aims to make the most of locally-grown fruit, with as little as possible going to waste.

"In these days of tighter household budgets, harvesting and sharing local free food makes a lot of sense," says Joyce Pountain, one of the founders of Abundance Wimbledon.

"Teams of volunteers will be picking fruit on Wednesdays and Sundays throughout the harvest season – from late July through to September."

Abundance Fruit Day this year will be held on Saturday September 15 from 11.00am to 2.00pm in the garden of St Mark’s Hall, St Mark's Place, Wimbledon SW19 7ND – next to St Mark's Church, right behind Wimbledon Library.  Free entry for all.

The day's celebration of fruit will feature a fruit press in action, jam-tasting, pie-making, fruit-growing and bee-keeping information, chutneys, fruit cakes, fruit sweets, games and live music from the International Ukelele Orchestra. 

If you are likely to have a glut, need help with picking your fruit, or would like to join a team of fruit-pickers, please send an email to abundancewimbledon@gmail.com, or ring 020 8946 3750.  More information about Abundance Wimbledon is on the website: www.abundancewimbledon.com.

August 6, 2012