Ripe Near Me. What a good idea!

Have you ever had a glut of vegetables or fruit that you weren't able to use by pickling, freezing, drying etc. or by giving away to friends and neighbours? Last winter we had a tree overladen with mandarins, many of which we weren't able to reach without a ladder. Some of them were also quite small so we didn't feel 'right' about giving them away as often people these days are used to the 'perfect' fruit available in the supermarkets. I don't make jam so didn't make marmalade out of the fruit but I knew that there would be others who would be quite happy to take them off our hands rather than see them go to waste.

 Well, that problem should be solved this winter when the mandarins are growing their prolific best again as this week I heard about a great new programme called Ripe Near Me which was started by a couple in Adelaide in South Australia and on their blog they have written an overview of why they started up Ripe Near Me:

Overview

Ripe Near Me is a small startup with an ambitious goal.

We were founded by Alistair Martin and Helena Martin in Adelaide, Australia - two foodies passionate about local and fresh produce. Particularly the rare and exotic variety!
In winter of 2012 they noticed so many citrus trees scattered about the suburbs full of fruit that nobody was eating. And yet local stores were selling plenty of them - even some that were imported! It just didn't make sense. So, an idea was born: Why not have a site that allows foodies to connect with growers? Wouldn't it be cool if we could get all our fresh food from the local neighbourhood?... And so we started on our quest.

Well, all I can say is...what a good idea!!! I haven't read everything on their blog and website as yet but they are hoping that this can grow into a worldwide programme where locals can look up the map on their website and locate any produce available nearby.

 

So if you have too many chillies which you don't use then someone else nearby might like to take them off your hands or buy your produce.

 

One can have too many chillies sometimes. :-)

 

We have multiple chilli plants of different varieties and only one person in the household eats them as some are very hot but I am sure there would be others who would love to share the joy of having their tongues burnt. That is if the garden CEO could part with them.

 

Now I wouldn't give these guavas away as the fruit fly has already done its work in some of them...

 

...and when I pick them off the tree to eat straight away I have to make sure I have my glasses on in case something is moving inside. :-)

 

So...do you agree with me that this is an absolutely great idea? I am going to contact our council and one of the gardening gurus in our local area as our council is starting up Seed to Feed workshops soon and attendees will learn how to set up their own fruit and vegetable gardens. Obviously they are keen for locals to grow their own food as much as possible so I am sure that they will be interested in this programme.

 

Check out the Ripe Near Me website if you have time. I am sure if everyone spreads the word then growers around the world will soon be registering and enjoying fresh produce.