Returning Stewards: Request Your Harvest

Welcome back, Tree Stewards! If you've found this page, then you've already registered your tree(s) with Community Fruit Rescue in the past. Please note that we've updated our harvest coordination efforts in 2024 in an effort to simplify the process for our small team, volunteers, and our tree stewards. Please read on to get the full scoop.

Update on October 2024 Harvest Requests

The intense and prolonged summer heat has caused many fruit trees to ripen or drop fruit earlier than expected. As a result, our calendar is filling up quickly with urgent harvest requests. We deeply appreciate your donations, which help ensure your harvest gets on our calendar. However, due to the high demand and limited availability, please note that as of October 10th, 2024 we will be accepting all harvest requests on a first-come, first-served basis.

Thank you for your patience as our small team works hard to get every harvest on the schedule!

Donation request & guaranteed harvests

Due to high demand and a need to support our small nonprofit organization, we are prioritizing sites that are able to make a donation of $100 or more (please consider the size & number of trees you’d like to be harvested when making a donation). Tree stewards who made a donation before October have been guaranteed a place on our harvest schedule. As of October 10th, 2024, any incoming harvest requests and donations will all be added on a first-come, first-served basis. Financial assistance is available for those unable to make a monetary contribution, and all other harvest requests will be added on an additional first-come, first-served basis depending on CFR’s availability.

Where we harvest

While Community Fruit Rescue is occasionally able to accommodate sites located outside of our service area, in 2024 we are primarily harvesting trees located in/near Boulder and Longmont city limits. If you are in the Lyons area, please register through our Human-Bear Conflict Reduction Initiative in Lyons. If you are located outside of our service area or CFR isn't able to add your site to our harvest calendar, consider renting one of our DIY Harvest Kits.

Bear activity

If you are experiencing bear activity in or near your fruit trees, please contact bears@fruitrescue.org.

Additional info

Community Fruit Rescue will not harvest unripe fruit and reserves the right to cancel harvests if the fruit is deemed premature. Visit our main site for more info on which fruits CFR will and won't harvest, how to tell when your fruit is ripe, and more.

Next steps:

  1. Make a tax-deductible donation of $100 or more to guarantee that your harvest will be added to our calendar
  2. Fill out the Harvest Request form below
  3. Our Harvest Coordinator will follow up in a separate email to confirm your harvest date & details, or add you to CFR's waitlist

All of our volunteers are required to sign a release of liability. Furthermore, you are protected from liability by the Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, a federal law that encourages people and businesses to donate food to charity.

Privacy: Information entered here is used solely by Community Fruit Rescue and will not be available to the public. We do not share, sell or otherwise distribute your personal information.

If you have other questions, please contact us at harvest@fruitrescue.org.


*Tree steward's last name

*Tree steward's first name

*Phone number

*Email address

*Harvest site address

Bear Activity
The next three questions are about black bears. Why are we talking about bears, you ask? By harvesting the surplus fruit growing throughout Boulder, we are helping to protect the local black bears that wander into town in search of food. Urban areas are not safe places for large animals like black bears; please help us be better neighbors to our wildlife by answering these questions about bears. Contact bears@fruitrescue.org with questions.

*Have you experienced bear activity on your property this year?

*If yes, roughly when did the bear activity occur?

*What did the bear activity consist of?

Other activity

Please select one of the following weeks during which your harvest will be scheduled. Remember to consider the ripeness of your fruit!

After submitting this form, our Harvest & Programs Coordinator will reach out to you over email with a specific date and time.

*Community Fruit Rescue reserves the right to schedule anytime during the weeklong windows listed below.

*Please list the quantity and type of fruit tree(s) you’d like Community Fruit Rescue to harvest. For each tree, please provide as much detail as possible about the tree size, location, and abundance of fruit. This helps us plan for a successful harvest with our volunteers! (Ex: 1 apple tree: 25 ft tall, needs a ladder to reach the top fruit, located in the backyard on grass, and is extremely full of red apples.)

*Our volunteers expect to harvest at least a 40 lb crate of fruit at each harvest. Do you feel you have this amount of fruit to pick?

*Have the trees been sprayed or treated in the past year?
Yes, with a common insecticide or pesticide.
Yes, but it is non-toxic.
No

Do you have a curbside compost bin or a backyard composter available for the compost-grade fruit?
No
Yes
Not sure

*Do you wish to keep one-quarter of the harvest?
No, thanks. Donate it all!
Some, but less than one-quarter
Yes, please - and I'll have containers out for volunteers to fill.

*Have you made a donation of $100 or more to guarantee your harvest?
Yes
No
I would like to receive financial assistance from CFR so I can schedule a guaranteed harvest
I’m participating through CFR’s Human-Bear Conflict Reduction Initiative in Lyons
I'm not sure, please follow up with me

*If you made a donation to guarantee your harvest, please specify which donation method you used.
Online donation through fruitrescue.org
Mailed a check
PayPal
This does not apply to me
Other:

*If you made a donation to receive a guaranteed harvest, please let us know of any scheduling preferences and/or conflicts you may have during the week-long range selected above.

In the event that you are not home during the scheduled harvest time, are there any special instructions we need to access your fruit trees?

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