What would you do? Gobs of apples and other fruits but can't eat them :(

[gonefishin]

Ok, picture this, huge fruit orchard, apples, peaches and others. We have GOBS of apples and other fruits and yet cannot eat them because of diabetes.
Other than giving away much of it, what would you do?

 

[breezyhill]

hello gonefishin,

do you know if there are any amish or mennonite communities near you? these families would make great use of your orchards, and none of it would go to waste.

my husband has diabetes. i understand what you are dealing with.

breezyhill

 

[Bill Clo]

Could you make fruit jerky of some of it and sell it? Donate to local food bank/homeless feeding facility? Set up a pick your own program?

Good luck.

 

[gonefishin]

donations, amish etc..

i forgot to mention that every year we donate to senior citizens, other places locally.
But I'll have to check into the food banks as well.
We don't have amish communities near us.
We also allow neighbors to bring sacks but this years bumper crop is like nothing we've ever had to deal with
Thanks for the info and I am going to have to look into the giving some away for the care packages at food banks locally i suppose.

 

[Kathy in WV]

Take a truck load at a time to the local Farmers market or Flea market. OR... ask around at the Farmers mkt if someone would sell for you and share the profit with you? It works around here....Kathy

 

[Deemy]

Put a sign out in front saying pick your own and get paid for it then use money for what you can use...maybe even do some bartering

 

[Mushroom]

Do be sure to can some for yourself. Unsweetened fruits and sauces and even jams are allowed on diabetic diets. Besides, if you don't eat fruit, how do you get your vitamin C? There is a pectin on the market that allows you to make sugarless or low sugar jams and jellies. Add cinnamon to your applesauce to help utilize the sugars. Make fruit leathers for snacking when blood sugars get low. You can also add diced fruit leather to your oatmeal. Don't waste a good resource.

Mushroom

 

[Freeholdfarm]

When you've exhausted all the other possibilities, compost it, or feed it to critters. (In small amounts initially -- too much too fast will make them sick.)

Kathleen

 

[Vicki]

You could start a new wine making business. Maybe you could pack some up and sell it to your friends at TB here for the cost of shipping, packing material and alittle for yourself. Maybe you should figure it out and give us a price. For those of us that can it may be worth it.

Vicki

 

[cinnamon girl]

I don't know about where you live, but around here (ontario, Canada) pick your own is done only on dwarf trees. Too many people "fall" out of trees and sue. Might be different in your neck of the woods


cinnamon girl

 

[Anjou]

Are there farmer's markets by you? Go to one, talk to the folks there and see if you can work something out, for them to come pick and then sell the fruit, giving you a cut of the earnings.

Call the local agricultural extension office - some of those places are amazing!

Look up a relatively nearby winemaking/beermaking company, explain your plight and you might get a bunch of eager cider-ologists ready to pick

Hire day laborers to pick the fruit and then you sell it (could they be paid in fruit too?)

Get ahold of the canning grandmother you must know.. maybe you can have a canning party.. trade a bunch of your fruit to someone who'd LOVE to can it, in exchange for some of their canned veggies that you can eat (I like this idea best)

Learn how to make low-sugar, no sugar or artificial-sweetener (like stevia) preserves, and go to town canning.

If you have time and interest, just make your regular canned fruit recipes, can the stuff, and figure out what to do with it later!!