Thirty-five orange trees loaded with luscious fruit, three ladders, and dozens of willing pickers make the arduous task of picking oranges doable.

The trees at Heritage House yield a very large and very sweet fruit and are a treat to eat.  It would be a shame to let them go to waste.  Wanting to make good use of the fruit and share it with others, we harvested the oranges and delivered them to Feeding America.  On day one, Cesar, Jeff, Danny, and Robin harvested oranges, snipping them one by one from the tops of the trees of two of the four groves and delivered 1400 oranges to Feeding America.  We would not have been so successful in this venture if it weren’t for the additional picking help we received.  The following Saturday, day 2, Steve Mains joined the picking crew with able hands from Boy Scout Troop 90 and Troop 97, and UCR Circle K International students.  Filling crates provided by Feeding America, the picking process was completed in just a few hours.  In all, we delivered between 4500 and 4800 oranges.  The oranges were destined to be offered at the produce markets offered at schools in the area to help ensure children are receiving healthy food options. Photos are courtesy of Brenda Flowers on behalf of the Museum, Robin Whittington, and Steve Mains.

our helping hands