Yes, you’ve read the title correctly! Not Far From The Tree is expanding its borders to pick and share more of the fruit abundantly growing in Toronto’s Urban Orchard! Season after season we receive requests to pick fruit trees outside of our current catchment area and have made it out on a few rogue picks to a few homes to collect and share their bounty. However, it is our priority to move beyond our current neighborhood borders. After all, we believe No good fruit should fall to waste when so many people can use it!

Welcome new trees, partners and community members! Currently, we operate in the downtown core, south of Eglinton, east of Jane, west of Victoria Park, and north of the waterfront. This year, we are expanding into Etobicoke (Royal York, The Gardiner and Dundas) and into Scarborough (Birchmount, St. Clair East, to the Bluffs).

Access to healthy, local fruit for pick leaders, pickers and clients of our partner agencies’ experiencing food insecurity, educating participants in fruit tree identification, empower participants with skills to pick and preserve fruit year round, and create opportunities for them to meet their neighbors and deepen social connections!

We are committed to ensuring that the picking program remains sustainable and as we grow! In order to do so, we would truly appreciate your support! Please read through the roles below to find out how you can join the team or deepen your impact!

Would you or anyone you know provide space for an Equipment Storage Access Site?

NFFTT’s picking program is made possible by generous community members and organizations who provide storage and access for our fleet of 11 cargo bikes throughout the season. A larger border means we need more sites to hold equipment for the team. This is an integral part of the program’s operations, as pick leaders enter private garages’, community gardens, and sheds to pick up all equipment necessary to make each pick a success. 

As a Storage partner you will provide a safe and accessible space (5 ft by 10ft) to house NFFTT’s cargo bike and equipment in kind between May to October, allowing for access 7 days/week between the hours of 8am and 10pm. Please email us at picks@notfarfromthetree.org to become a storage partner!

Homeowners, we are here to rescue your fruit! 

Thank you for your patiences and support as we know you or some of your friends and family have been following NFFTT for a few seasons in hope that we will one day expand to capture more neighborhoods in the picking program. This season we can now help pick more trees and share their bounty with more partner agencies. 

Got a fruit tree in the new catchment area? Please RSVP or share this link to join the picking program here. Our Portal has NOT been updated with the expanded border and therefore, will NOT allow new tree registrants in our new catchment area to join as members as of yet. We will be sure to contact all interested tree registrants before the launch of the picking season to official register on the Portal. 

Join the pick team!

A larger area with more Trees to harvest means more opportunities to experience the urban orchard and the amazing people that make it all come alive! Let’s connect with more community members from different backgrounds, with different skills, all with a passion for harvesting good fruit and sharing it with those that need it most! Learn more about how you can get involved. 

Pick leaders 

Volunteer Pick Leaders are integral to harvesting the thousands of pounds picked this year and seasons’ past! Accessing equipment sets, leading picks, harvesting and sharing fruit through rain and shine, trekking from east to west to make sure fruit is harvested and share! 

Learn more, sign up here.