Did you know that there is over 1.5 million pounds of fresh local fruit growing in Toronto?
Not Far From The Tree is Toronto’s fruit tree harvesting program, founded in 2008. We pick fruit in people’s yards – what we call Toronto’s urban orchard – and share the bounty with organizations that feed fellow Torontonians.
When a tree owner can’t keep up with their harvest, we mobilize a volunteer team to pick the fruit, and then split it: 1⁄3 to the tree registrant, 1⁄3 split amongst the volunteers, and 1⁄3 donated to one of our community agency partners. This simple act brings Torontonians together, empowering communities to reduce food waste, increases access to fresh fruit, and to helping us live more sustainably in the city. We typically deliver fruit to agencies via cargo bike to reduce our impact on the environment and demonstrate that a low-carbon food distribution model is possible!
NFFTT supports social agencies such as shelters, food banks, community fridges, housing programs, and meal programs. Clients of these agencies are low income, seniors, youth, families, Indigenous peoples, racialized communities, 2SLGTBQIA+ people, anyone fleeing domestic violence, people experiencing housing instability, and/or newcomers to Canada, who are experiencing disproportionately higher levels of food insecurity and poverty.
Our Mission
Our mission is to harness the power of fruit trees to create healthy, resilient, sustainable and connected communities across Toronto. We empower Torontonians to pick and share fruit that would otherwise fall to waste while providing opportunities to connect more intimately with their neighbours, environment, and food system. We empower people to be stewards of the urban orchard to ensure its benefits can be realized for many generations to come.
Our Vision
We envision a Toronto where everyone has access to the urban harvest as part of a resilient, local food system that builds community, and is based on the value of shared abundance.
In order to achieve this vision, we:
– Pick and share fruit to reduce fruit waste and associated GHG emissions, and lessen our impact on the environment
– Build community by bringing Torontonians together to harvest local fruit from city trees
Increase access to healthy, local fruit by sharing the harvest with communities who experience food insecurity
– Raise public awareness of Toronto’s urban orchard as a viable source of fresh fruit
– Promote the health and sustainability of the urban orchard by building community capacity in fruit tree care, stewardship, and planting
– Strengthen food skills in communities experiencing food insecurity by offering fruit preserving and other skill-building workshops
– Provide an opportunity for city people to enjoy a social outdoor experience that boosts physical and mental wellbeing
The Land
Not Far From The Tree, as well as its staff and volunteers, operates on Lands that have traditionally been, and continue to be, stewarded and tended by many Indigenous nations: the Wendat, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the Three Fires Anishinaabek Confederacy, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River.
These territories are covered by the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, a treaty between the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabek Confederacies, as well as allied nations, to mutually care for and honor these Lands. All who live here are a part of this agreement, responsible for sharing and respecting this Land: we are all treaty people.
As an organization whose focus is on tending to our relationships to surrounding Lands and trees, we are cognizant of the ways ongoing processes of colonialism, dispossession, and Eurocentricity shape our practices. These include our operational and organizational structure, our tending to of non-native fruit trees brought here by immigrants, our participation in the construct of private property, and the specific life experiences and skills which we bring to building organizational relationships. We commit to continually hold and address these contradictions as we continue to deepen respectful relation with these Lands and its Beings.
Check out our ‘Backgrounder’ to learn more!
Our Staff Team
For all other inquiries and collaborations, get in touch with us at info@notfarfromthetree.org!
Steering Committee Members
Not Far From The Tree is guided by a volunteer Steering Committee and is supported by committees focusing on program development and fundraising.
Ali Abbas
Anne Lemesurier
Maddie Emberson, Chair
Niya Bajaj
Reem Dabbous
Ryan Frigault
Walter Sisti
MakeWay
Not Far From The Tree is a project on MakeWay‘s shared platform, which provides operational support, governance, and charitable expertise for change makers. The shared platform enables more time and money to go towards achieving greater impact. MakeWay is a national charity that builds partnerships and solutions to help nature and communities thrive together. With the shared platform, MakeWay projects benefit from the support of a mission-aligned community, charitable expertise, and shared administrative resources including: governance, compliance, financial management, human resources, risk management and grants administration. MakeWay has full fiduciary and governance responsibility for Not Far From The Tree.
Thank you to our 2024 Season Sponsors
