Abundance is a project to harvest the seasonal glut of local fruit like apples, pear and plums. Each year hundreds of fruit trees go unpicked either because people don’t notice them, may not be physically able to harvest them or there are just too many fruits at one time. Abundance is a team of volunteers who have been helping harvest city fruit and redistributing the surplus to the community on a non-profit basis - to community cafes, nurseries, Surestarts and individuals. Abundance has been distributing free fresh fruit around the streets of central Sheffield and Meadowhall Shopping Centre from the custom designed mobile fruit unit. We have also juiced tonnes of fruit and made jams, pickles and preserves. Abundance contines through the seasonal cycle with planting and pruning workshops. In June 09 we produced the Handbook as a guide to community urban harvesting.

If you have a fruit tree and want help with harvesting please contact us – you will get the first share. And if you are interested in becoming an urban harvester or want to help with picking, distribution or processing please get in touch. Volunteers have the pleasure of eating fresh, ripe fruit from the tree, finding out more about urban food growing and working alongside enthusiastic people of all ages. Volunteers need to have some free time between August and the end of October. Please also contact us if you would like to receive fresh fruit for your group or neighbourhood.

abundance 08 info & pics          abundance 07 info & pics           abundance Handbook

For abundance manchester click here

And click here for Encounter Abundance: a collaboration with encounters in a shop

contact: abundance@growsheffield.com

Abundance 07 was made possible with funding from Arts Council (Yorkshire) and South Yorkshire Community Foundation.