Can’t afford the organic fruit at Whole Foods in this economy? If you’re a kid in California, Fruit Tree Tours‘ new victory orchards could give you a welcome break from the usual cafeteria food and help you get your 5-a-Day in the coming years.
Fruit Tree Tours is a project of Common Vision, an eco-nonprofit at whose party I had to give myself ad hoc dreadlocks to fit in. This year, Fruit Tree Tours includes more than 1,000 fruit trees, 75 drums, and 25 volunteers who will travel around California on a fleet of buses that run on 100% recycled veggie oil and have solar arrays on their rooftops.
Tour volunteers say they plant fruit trees in under-served neighborhoods “where liquor stores outnumber fresh food grocers and a disproportionate number of students rely on state-funded meal programs to meet their basic nutritional needs.” In addition to the plantings, volunteers educate and educating students and community members about environmental issues through a “Green Theater” performance featuring big puppets. Plus, there’ll be communal drumming and eco hip hop — whatever that is — involved.
The 3-month tour began earlier this month and will hit public schools and community centers all over California, including Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Riverside, Fresno, Sacramento, Chico, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Learn more about Fruit Tree Tours by watching the 6-minute video above. The biofueled buses will arrive in L.A. on Feb. 25 for a couple weeks, traveling Compton to Malibu to Lawndale to many other parts of town. Find out when the tour’s coming to your ‘hood on this calendar, or follow Fruit Tree Tour’s progress on Twitter.



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