Join us at the Orchard! Located behind McCauley School at 9538 107 AvenueOFRE is hosting or participating in the following events and want to see you all there! We could always use help from like minded individuals and organizations. If you are interested please send us an e-mail to with the subject line : Volunteer on committees info@operationfruitrescue.org.
Sign up to become a member today, and become a part of OFRE.
We hope that you will join us as we continue our adventure in 2016.
Join us at our AGM, and bring a dish to share:
What does 2016 hold for OFRE?
As we come out of hibernation we are gearing up for 2016 and have some
amazing ideas for events that will build on our momentum from last
year and we need your help to make it happen!
To make our organization resilient to and sustainable over the long term we are
seeking volunteers to help our board members implement their ideas.
We are also seeking additional board members to guide the organization
into the future. Come join us at our AGM and find the hidden fruit in our city!
Hello, OFRE volunteers, growers, and members of the community.
It is unfortunate that I must issue this statement to inform you that the OFRE cider shack at the McCauley School and the site of the OFRE orchard was broken into on the night of Saturday 13th, 2015. Critical components for our pedal-powered apple crusher were stolen from the shack, which makes our one-of-a-kind pedal-powered apple crusher unusable. These items include the stainless steel hopper, and two 20″ bike rims for the seat.
We are upset that someone would break into our shed and steal customized equipment that has no other purpose than to crush apples. We have used the crusher to bring joy to families, OFRE members, growers and volunteers by crushing thousands of pound of apples over the past 3 years. OFRE will continue to put on events, with slightly modified equipment to ensure that we continue to educate Edmontonians on the value of locally grown fruit, what type of fruit can grow in the city, and what you can do with that fruit.
We have reported the incident to the police, and a police report has been filled out. One of our volunteers also contacted the Edmonton Journal on behalf of OFRE to report the incident, and a story was published on Sunday night. You can find the article here:
If you or anyone you know has any information about this, please inform the police, as we would really like our custom equipment back, especially since this is our busy time of year and have events planned for the next two weekends which were supposed to showcase the pedal-powered apple crusher (pictured here).
We will also be starting a fundraising effort to rebuild the critical components to the pedal-powered apple crusher, and hope to raise funds. Please stay tuned.
Sincerely,
Mike Johnson
OFRE president
OFRE volunteers plant trees in the orchard behind McCauley School on Saturday Sept. 13, 2014. Photo by OFRE
It took a lot of effort, and we are thrilled to see the fruits of our labour this year. There are buds on several of the trees, and some even have flowers. As many of you know the FIFA world cup of soccer is coming to Edmonton this summer, and will be taking place at Commonwealth stadium, which is just down the street from the orchard. So this spring planting and clean up is vital to show the city and people from all over the world what citizens of Edmonton are capable of achieving when we get together and share in a vision of making our city a healthier, more fruitful place to live!
My wife talks a lot about the journey of life, enjoying the path, and focusing less on the destination. The path can lead to something new and unexpected if you don’t purely focus on the destination, it can enrich the destination with experiences along the way. This is something I have been struggling to learn over the years, because without a destination or goal, then there is no logic to a path and you can wandering aimlessly. I do however believe that the joy of cooking is about the process not just the end product, even though the end goal is usually a great meal. Discovering the flavours, textures, and their combinations through experimentation create experiences that enrich the soul, while if we all just follow a recipe we can miss the extraordinary. A meal I think is always better if there is a story attached. With the explosion of Edmonton restaurants offering ‘farm to table’ dinners, it’s getting easier to know where ingredients come from and that local doesn’t just taste better because of the freshness, but because of the story. It allows people to have an experience beyond taste and connect directly with the food.
A question I ask a lot of people now is: do you know where your food comes from? For the past 5 years I have learned more about where my food has come from and the problems with the industrial agricultural system. One of the things I have learned is that Apples are the top of the dirty dozen list, which means that there is more pesticides sprayed on apples than any other food. This makes it even more important that if you are going to be buying organic, the first one that should be purchased is apples. However, having saying that, why should you have to purchase apples where there is such an abundance right here in the city. Some of the best tasting apples grown right here. It may not be a Fuji, a Pink Lady, or a Gala, but have you ever had a Goodland? I have been picking apples in Edmonton for 5 years and each year I am impressed with the quality…. but I may be biased because picking fruit gives me a different appreciation of the fruit. I savor the tart apples, the dolgo crab, and cherish the eating apples. This is not about going on a trip to the grocery store, this is about the adventure and the journey of picking the fruit right off the tree! I think it tastes better.
It turns out that tart apples and crab apples are essential to making the perfect cider blend. Four years ago I created what I believe was the perfect cider blend. A combination of sweet, to tart apples. It was complex with distinct notes, and not muddled with too many varieties. I may never be able to recreate that exact flavour combination, but each year I try, but am not worried if I ever recreate it, because it’s not all about the taste, it’s the process that I take each year to create the cider. Every year it tastes unique and is memorable to me as that year’s blend.
Through OFRE, I have found amazing friends, and learned the power of giving, and that sometimes the journey is better than the destination. This year I hope that you will all slow down and enjoy the fruits of your labour this year. Come and join OFRE, come for the journey, stay for the cider.