Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 8, 1995 TAG: 9509080079
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
The Society of St. Andrew, a Bedford County-based charity that distributes produce to the hungry, hopes to get between 50 and 200 volunteers to gather apples at Johnson's Orchard near Thaxton between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
Dry weather this year made thousands of apples ripen early and fall to the ground, owner Danny Johnson said. Because apples on the ground don't fetch as much as picked apples, Johnson is giving the apples to charity rather than let them rot.
"We've been doing it for quite a few years, and it's our way of sharing our bountiful crop," said Johnson. It's also a way of cleaning up the ground before the orchard's annual apple festival, he said, which will take place this year on Sept. 16 and 17.
But to local groups that feed the homeless, it's a godsend.
"It will mean fruit supplements to people's diets, an item they carry in their pockets without refrigeration," said society volunteer Roger Layne. "For homeless people, they can fill their pockets with apples so they won't have to go hungry if they're away from a day center or night center."
The society hopes to harvest between 4,000 to 5,000 bushels of apples Saturday. Trucks from the Roanoke Rescue Mission and Salvation Army will distribute the food to shelters, including RAM House in Roanoke and the Lynchburg Food Bank.
For information on how to volunteer, call (800)333-4597.
by CNB