OUR STORY

Fruitfully Yours (FLY) is an award-winning community organization and social enterprise preventing food waste, fighting food insecurity, and protecting the environment. 

It was founded in 2017 by Mihir Anand when he was a freshman at Glendora High School, along with his mother, Vineet Kaur.  They decided to find a solution for the unwanted and unharvested fruit from the fruit trees in the community, that they encountered on their daily walks.  They approached the then Mayor of Glendora about an idea of recruiting volunteers to pick fruit and donate it to local food banks, that could distribute it to the food insecure. With the Mayor's support, they networked within the local community and generated the initial fruit donors and volunteers. Later, the initiative was expanded using social media, community events, partnerships with other community organizations, etc., to not only service Glendora, but also the neighboring cities of La Verne, San Dimas, Covina and Azusa (San Gabriel Valley, also called the Citrus Valley). 

WHAT DID WE DO DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC?

Fruitfully Yours did not stop picking during the pandemic. In fact, we intensified our efforts to continue to support our local food bank, Shepherd's Pantry, as the demand for food had multiplied many times. Hence, we conducted what we called “socially distanced pandemic picks”, following all the Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines. 

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

So far since our inception in Aug 2017, we have diverted about 97,000 pounds of food from landing up in landfills. Estimates indicate that if food recovery organizations work together, annual food waste (13.2 million tons) can be reduced by 20% in the next decade. Our accomplishments will help the United States meet the first-ever goal to reduce food waste--a 50% reduction by 2030. 

The environmental cost of food waste is extreme. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, food waste sent to landfills produces methane, a harmful greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than CO2. Globally, food waste contributes over 8% of the total greenhouse gas emissions, making it a significant contributor to climate change. Food is the largest source of waste in California, comprising 20% of California's landfills.  

Rescuing food can help individuals and families that do not always have access to fresh and nutritious produce. Through our food recovery model, Fruitfully Yours helps to protect the environment from harmful toxins produced by food waste decomposition. Our program is interconnected with our surroundings, environment, and the power of communities to create change.