Ilford Community Apple harvest 2026
The season has ended and we are pleased with our pilot to save Ilford’s apples in 2026. We saved 150 kg of fruit and delivered it to the Community Grocer, local food banks and other community projects. Our community chutney making sessions were loads of fun and enjoyed by over 60 people.We worked in partnership with Redbridge Cooking Connections and Redbridge Food Hub and we have built links with all the local projects that would like fruit.
Next year we will start earlier and hope to save 500 kgs. Do join us! And register your fruit ready for next year’s harvest.
We piloted a community effort to pick and use the apples going to waste in people’s gardens; fresh and organic with zero food miles.
We collected apples and pears from 15 trees in Ilford and others picked their fruit and dropped off. We distributed the good ones we can distribute to the Community Grocer, Food banks and local projects.
The damaged apples we turned into chutneys at community no-cook chutney making sessions. 40 people joined us at the Redbridge Food Hub in the Exchange and 25 pitched in at our Picnic event at the Forest Garden.
For this first year we aimed to mainly picked apples in the roads around Christchurch School and around Highlands School.
However we were delighted that people living in Chadwell Heath, Gants Hill and other places were able to pick and drop off their fruit. They just wanted to know who wanted their fruit and how to get it to them. 🙂
Why just apples?
We wanted to keep it simple but in the end we picked and collected apples and pears, also grapes and rhubarb. We have got a good list of local trees now and will start earlier in the season to catch cherries and plums…It’s all about learning, pitching in and enjoying the community spirit along the way.
Got an apple tree or other fruit you want to share next year? Please register the tree here or send us an email – and we will get in touch with you.
You want to volunteer next year? We need people to pick the fruit and to help us run this project at a larger scale in 2027. Please get in touch if willing to help. It should be fun!
We need people who can join or lead community cooking sessions to save the non perfect apples and make chutneys etc. And your recipes!
In partnership with Redbridge Cooking Connections, Community Action Redbridge.
And there’s many more ways to help out….
Please get in touch if you’d like to be part of it. Contact: Ilfordtransition@gmail.com / (texts/whatsapp only 07957 534908)