The Grow & Share team, including (from left) Mike Cucco, Founder Beth Huber, Zack Pavkov (on ladder), Katie Pavkov and Susie Huber, poses with freshly picked produce.  Beth and her parents, Shane and Susie, all grew up in Orange.  They feel a strong sense of connection to the city that drives them to continue the work they do.

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Grow & Share

Once known for its lush groves of citrus trees, the city of Orange hosts many homes abundant with fruit and, often, a lack of use.  One family is working to make the community more fruitful for everyone through Grow & Share, a non-profit that redistributes excess fruit to those in need.

Established last year by Orange native Beth Huber and her family, Grow & Share gathers locally grown produce and partners with organizations to share the fruit with underserved communities.

“I’ve always volunteered in the community, but I wanted to start something myself, and my family has these citrus trees that go crazy with fruit each year,” says Beth.  “I did a little research, and it turned out there was a pretty strong need for something like this in the area.”

Beth and her family started the operation by picking their own leftover fruit and calling on social media to see if anyone had excess citrus they could grab.  They quickly connected with dozens of neighbors eager to share citrus, persimmons and avocados, and today, Grow & Share collects between 300-600 pounds of produce each weekend.

“All of the produce we pick comes from within Orange County, mostly in Orange and Santa Ana,” says Beth.  “Our main goal is to serve local residents in need.”

Though the Grow & Share team has already had a tremendous impact, Beth aims to keep the organization local and family-focused.

“It’s a whole family affair,” she says.  “It’s mostly just my parents, siblings and our significant others doing the picking and organizing.”

Beth’s father, Shane Huber, leads most of the manual picking and operations portions of the non-profit.  He and the rest of his family have full-time jobs, but they spend hours each week coordinating, picking and donating hundreds of pounds of produce.

“It got to the point where picking and dropping fruit off twice a week became routine,” says Shane.  “This is so incredibly important to the community, but it’s straightforward and easy for us to do.”

Through Grow & Share, the Hubers are most proud of how they come together as a family every weekend to donate their time and energy to the community and the environment.

“Not only are we able to feed people with the fruit that gets picked, but there’s an environmental impact to this as well,” says Beth.  “When fallen fruit lays on the ground, it releases methane gasses into the environment.  The more fruit we can redistribute, the better, and it has a dual impact on the health and sustainability of our community.”

Call 714-210-9130 or visit GrowAndShareOC.org for more details on how to donate produce, time or funds.