I am a huge advocate of local food, both for environmental and culinary reasons.  Fruits and vegetables can travel thousands of miles via fossil fuel consuming planes and trucks before reaching the supermarket and they usually have to be picked under-ripe and bred for hardiness in order to make the journey.  It is certainly worth the small amount of extra effort to buy local food at a farmer’s market or to just be more aware of the labels on produce at the grocery (at Trader Joe’s apples grown in California sit right next to those flown in from New Zealand—check the sticker!).


The local food movement has slowly gained popularity in the last few years, but its more subversive cousin, fruit foraging, has most stayed under the radar.  At least it had, until the New York Times published an article detailing the hunting practices of many individuals and small groups across the United States (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/10/dining/10Fruit.html).  The article describes websites and Facebook groups that people use to inform each other about the location of fruit trees that are accessible from the street.  I myself have used fallenfruit.org to scavenge a few very tasty peaches.




(picture from nytimes)


While I feel that the public is severely under informed about the local food movement, I fear that this article might over publicize fruit foraging.  It’s legal in California to take fruit from branches that hang over public property, but if this practice becomes more popular, individuals might start to take advantage of private property.  If you plan to scavenge for fruit, just remember to be respectful of your neighbors and don’t be greedy.



(picture from nytimes)