If you have fruit trees growing on your property, then you likely know the struggle of keeping up with the bounty as it ripens, drops from branches, and sits in the grass. But life gets busy and sometimes all of that fruit waits too long on the ground, turning into a mushy mess.
Portland Cider Company wants to put your surplus or unwanted fruit to good use. Community members are invited to donate bushels of edible-quality apples and pears to be pressed into cider for the company’s eighth annual Fruit Forward Drive.
The initiative benefits Hunger-Free Schools, a project of Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon, which works to end childhood hunger across the state. Bushels (a minimum of 40 pounds) can be dropped off at the cidery in Clackamas (8925 SE Jannsen Rd.) every Saturday in September, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Donors will get a voucher for every bushel donated to redeem for a free pint of Community Cider in October at Portland Cider Company taprooms.