From Tree to Table: LifeCycles grows sustainability in the Capital Region
Everyone should have access to local food — this is a goal that LifeCycles Project Society takes very seriously. Barriers still exist that make it difficult for vulnerable populations to access fresh, nutritious fruit and vegetables from our community. “There is potential on this island to grow all the food we need,” says Jeanette Sheehy, director of LifeCycles, a not-for-profit society based in Victoria since 1994. “It’s not something that’s expensive, scary, or hard; it’s something the community can do together in really fun, exciting ways. Food security is an opportunity to get to know our neighbours and share our knowledge.”
CONNECTING PEOPLE WITH BACKYARDS TO VOLUNTEERS WHO WANT TO HARVEST THEM
LifeCycles’ Fruit Tree Project perfectly demonstrates Vancouver Island’s potential, Sheehy says. Once the epicenter of fruitgrowing in BC, Victoria is now home to countless heirloom fruit trees, often growing fruit that busy owners lack time to pick themselves. Thanks to the Fruit Tree Project, 350 volunteers — and a few sturdy ladders — collected over 39,000 lbs of apples, cherries, plums and more last year. The fruit is distributed equally between the homeowners, pickers and LifeCycles, which donates some of its portion to 45 partner agencies, like the Mustard Seed, while also selling some to local
produce partners, raising funds for day-today expenses. “Our big goal is saving this fruit from going to waste and redirecting it to people who need it,” Sheehy says. A huge local population uses food banks, which are always strapped for cash, she adds, so it’s hard for them to purchase local, organic food. “The agencies we deliver fruit to say that we’re the number one source during the fruit season,” Sheehy says. “It’s just a matter of connecting the people who have the backyards to the volunteers who want to pick them.” Volunteers are not hard to come by: “I don’t know of many other organizations that have quite the diversity of
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PARTNER AGENCIES
volunteers that we have.” LifeCycles receives funding from the Victoria Foundation, “one of our biggest champions,” Sheehy says. The Victoria Foundation also connects the organization with resources for their projects. “They’ve seen the achievements we’ve been making as we’ve grown,” she adds. Although there is always room to grow — a second van would help increase the numbers, Sheehy notes — feedback for the Fruit Tree Project is overwhelmingly positive. “This project fills a need in the community,” she says. “You can’t really have a better project than one that gives away free food and connects people.”
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