New to the streets of the United Kingdom are 10 delivery trucks fueled by food waste.  Anaerobic digestion plants help capture the biomethane from the rotting food to help power these industrial-size trucks for up to 500 miles. Traditional transportation uses biodiesel, which is far more expensive and less sustainable.  While the trucks themselves may be more costly, savings in dollars and our planet occur at the pump. Gas made from food waste is cheaper than diesel, which is used in most heavy-duty trucks. It also emits about 70% less carbon dioxide. Waitrose’s 10 new eco-friendly ..read more

Supermarkets are continuing to shrink food waste with community-based initiatives.  More and more retailers are adopting creative practices such as recycling, charitable donations, less ambiguous labels, etc. While these habits have had a positive impact on the issue of food waste, we need to keep the momentum going. Though there are financial benefits to reducing food waste, there is added complexity.  There are separate handling methods to up-cycling and transitioning the food from off the shelves to their next destination.  Moreover current technology and other sus ..read more

Purpose If your tree was scheduled to be harvested and we were not able to service you, and our harvest leader did not call or text you, we sincerely apologize. The purpose of this post is to help you better understand why. The Making of a Harvest Team This background information is useful in understanding our condition. Each week we look for a cluster of 3-5 ripe fruit trees that are near each other. We contact the fruit donors (that’s you) and organize a harvest route (start here, then go here, then….) Weeks before the harvest, we publish a schedule of harvests where 10 to 12 volunteers can ..read more

Help us get the word out about The Urban Farmers service by posting to social media and NextDoor! The best and most helpful posts give information about the who, what, where, and when of it.  Your experience is just as useful to us as it is to the community so please share! Below are some of our favorites.  With permission, we have “borrowed” some simple post from fruit donors and volunteers for our lending library.  Feel free to edit, add, and customize as you see fit.   Got Excess Fruit? If you have more fruit on your tree than you can use, contact The Urban Farmers. T ..read more

Roof rats are a common pest in California backyards. This rat is the same species that carried the bubonic plague around the world and is also the reservoir host for murine typhus. Roof rats might be cute but are dangerous. This article discussed what you need to know and what to do about this common pest. * Nocturnal and secretive roof rats are hard to spot. * Roof rats can travel long distances from their nest to reach their food. * They invade buildings and can chew through wires (potentially starting fires), gnaw through plastic and even lead water pipes. Hosting a Late Night Reception ..read more

People that want to donate their excess backyard fruit are our kind of people. They are kind hearted, concerned with social justice and dislike waste. The last thing we want to do is disappoint them. However, since they are not familiar with our work, they sometimes develop expectations that are not realistic, and when we do not meet their expectations, they feel disappointed. Let’s change this. PurposeThe purpose of this post is to explain 1) how we operate 2) when you can expect to have your fruit harvested 3)  if we can not harvest your fruit, what other options are available to you ..read more

Want to organize a harvest for your group? You have choices. BackgroundEach year we organize over one hundred free, public harvests which are powered by a team of about 10 to 12 volunteers. One of our trained harvest leaders guides the group visiting from one to four homes. Each team harvests between 800 and 1,200 pounds of fruit. Public harvests are designed for families and individuals. Private HarvestsPrivate harvests are for teams of volunteers that would like to work together on a day of their choosing. Private harvests are planning intensive, require an organized point of contact ..read more

  A long-time friend of The Urban Farmers project, Papa John Kiefer, is an expert at raising backyard chickens. Papa John has been at it for nearly 50 years and has made it easier than ever to maintain a personal flock at home. He will be holding two separate workshops on how to get started on Sunday 2/19 and Sunday 3/5 from 1:00pm-3:30pm. The trend of keeping backyard chickens has been on the rise over the past number of years, and it’s easy to see why. Of course, there are the fresh eggs to look forward to, but did you know that chickens have a lot else going for them? Source: 20 ..read more

  A debate over dead trees. Source: California Today: More Than 100 Million Trees Are Dead. What Now? – The New York Times ..read more

The Salinas Valley, known as the salad bowl of the nation, is struggling with poverty and malnutrition among the migrant farmworkers who harvest its crops. Source: In a California Valley, Healthy Food Everywhere but on the Table ..read more