We can’t think of a better local example of a project that turned a problem for a few people (fruit falling unharvested in the backyards of homes across the south island) into an ingenious way to feed the community. The more people who know about this organisation, the better, and if you find this interview interesting, please share with your friends.

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For folks who might not know you yet — what does your organization do?

Our mission is to build a resilient food system in Greater Victoria by growing, harvesting, and sharing food. Year after year, we strive to make a difference by caring for the land, empowering our community, and building momentum within the local food movement to continue to connect people with healthy food. LifeCycles Project Society has four main projects; Farm Gleaning, Fruit Tree Project, Welland Community Orchard, and the Seed Library. The basis of these projects is advocating for and providing healthy local food systems and food security for everyone.

How did the organization get started? What gap were you trying to fill?

LifeCycles Project Society started as the Fruit Tree Project in 1994 when two people (Lee Herrin and Matt Strand) noticed an abundance of fruit falling and going to waste in people’s backyards all over the city. They saw an opportunity to take these privately held resources to strengthen our local food networks. Thus, they began knocking on doors, collecting fruit, and distributing fruit amongst the community.

Last year we partnered with LifeCycle’s Fruit Tree Project. Could you tell us about project — how does it work?

The cycle of the Fruit Tree Project starts with the property owner reaching out to us when they have fruit which would otherwise go to waste. Our staff and volunteers complete the rest of the process; which initially begins with a Tree Assessor going to the property to determine our ability to pick the fruit and when the fruit will be ripe. Harvest Leaders then select which properties they are able to harvest from on a given date. Our Box Collectors ensure that the Harvest Leaders have adequate boxes to transport fruit. Fruit Pickers meet the Harvest Leader at the trees to help harvest the fruit. The harvest is brought back to our warehouse where it will be sorted based on quality. Lastly, the food is distributed through our community sharing model.

Where does the food go — do participants take it home, sell it, share it with the community?

The food is distributed through our community sharing model. When the food is initially gleaned, the property owners are entitled to up to 25% of the harvest as a thank you for stewarding the land and allowing us to glean. Most property owners donate their portion back to the community. The volunteers who are involved in the harvest and in the food distribution processes are allocated up to 25% of the harvest as a thank you. We then sort the food at our warehouse location which inverts the standard marketing arrangement and ensures the highest quality, local food is available to people with the lowest access and least purchasing power. We partner with the Food Share Network to distribute the majority of the food to the community; allowing us to provide over 60 agencies with fresh produce. The “B-grade” food as we call it (produce you would choose last at a grocery store) stays with LifeCycles for further processing. The processed food is turned into juices, ciders, jams, pies, and more to help fund our food security projects.

**Four ways to feed the community.**

Lifecycle distributes gleaned food through their community sharing model.

The Fruit Tree Project is just one of many things you do in the community. What are other projects or resources readers may be interested in?

Welland Community Orchard became a part of LifeCycles approximately 15 years later. Rex Welland stewarded the land now known as his backyard at the time and grew hundreds of varieties of apples as well as various other fruits. When he passed away he gifted the land to the community of View Royal who allows LifeCycles to steward the land ever since. Rex’s dedication to the ecosystem is an inspiration, and we are humbled to be a part of his legacy by working with the Town of View Royal to care for and continue to develop this local treasure. With the help of our volunteers and supporters, we hope to build a public park that might help fulfill his ambitious dreams.

The Farm Gleaning program began in 2015 supported by the Mustard Seed as a way to get fresh produce into the community through the Food Rescue Network. The Seed Library operates as a partnership between Flourish, The Greater Victoria Public Library and Lifecycles, and will be relaunching after a short hiatus Fall 2025.

How do you measure your impact year to year?

We measure the Fruit Tree Project’s impact and Farm Gleaning’s impact by the amount of food gleaned per year and how much of that food is distributed to the food sharing network of Greater Victoria. Last year we gleaned over 30000 lbs of fruit and over 20000 lbs was distributed to the community.

What’s something your team is excited about right now or working toward next?

Our team is very excited to be starting up the season this year. Since most of our staff are returning from previous seasons, we have high hopes of being able to strengthen our current projects with our previous season’s experience. On top of that we are excited to be in the process of making the seed library more accessible to everyone. Our volunteers are working tirelessly to ensure that the seeds will be ready for distribution in future years.

What kind of support helps you do this work — and what would make the biggest difference going forward?

Our volunteers and their boundless enthusiasm for this work are the biggest thing that keeps us going! Some of the pickers have been working with us for as long as 15 years. We are always happy to bring new people on!

The landscape of grants and funding has changed a lot since the pandemic. We are working on building out our social enterprise and being a) as self-sufficient as possible and b) keeping our program tight and streamlined so we don’t take on more than we are able to sustain. That said, until this can be developed further our monthly and periodic donors make a huge difference, enabling us to do more of what we do best.

For our readers who want to learn more or get involved, what’s the best way to do that?

We have many different ways for people to get involved and learn more about us, people can:

Check out our website (https://lifecyclesproject.ca/)
Find us at local markets and chat with us
Check out Welland Community Orchard’s workshops on Eventbrite (https://www.eventbrite.ca/o/welland-community-orchard-17553212358)
Follow us on instagram (https://www.instagram.com/lifecyclesproject/) as we post updates on there, including our community sharing day.

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