Sierra Harvest's Gold Country Gleaning Program sends volunteers to pick fruit and vegetables from local trees and gardens that would otherwise rot, then donates the harvest to Interfaith Food Ministry and the Food Bank of Nevada County, which give it out for free to families in need [source: sierraharvest.org/gleaning, retrieved 2026-05-17].
You don't get free fruit directly from Sierra Harvest. The free fruit reaches you through the food banks they supply.
If you need free fruit and produce
Pick up a box at one of the partner food banks in Nevada County:
- Interfaith Food Ministry — Grass Valley. interfaithfoodministry.org, (530) 273-8132. Free groceries including fresh fruit when in season. No religious requirement.
- Food Bank of Nevada County — multiple distribution sites. foodbankofnevadacounty.org, (530) 272-3796.
In summer and fall (apple, pear, plum, citrus seasons), these pantries often have boxes of just-picked local fruit that Sierra Harvest volunteers gleaned that week.
If you have fruit trees with extra fruit
Register your trees so volunteers can come pick them. Use the site registration form at sierraharvest.org/gleaning. You keep a share, the food bank gets the rest, nothing rots on the ground.
If you want to volunteer to pick
Register once as a volunteer at sierraharvest.org/gleaning, then sign up for individual gleans on their calendar. Gleans are announced on short notice (a few days), so check often during harvest season (roughly June–November).
Contact
- Phone: (530) 265-2343
- Email: gleaning@sierraharvest.org
- Office: 313 Railroad Ave #201, Nevada City, CA 95959
- Main page: <https://sierraharvest.org/gleaning/>
Service area: Nevada County (Nevada City, Grass Valley, Penn Valley, and surrounding foothills).