Instead of ending up in a landfill, the fresh fruits and vegetables that are grown right here at City College are being donated to the Santa Barbara Foodbank to help low-income families, children and seniors.

On March 11 volunteers from the Foodbank’s Backyard Bounty Program collaborated with the horticulture department to harvest ripe grapefruit, oranges, lemons, avocados, limes and lettuce.

“I think it’s great because we have to harvest it anyway, and it’s so much better that we give it away to people who need it,” said horticulture student Mark Broomfield.

Michael Gonella, head of the Horticulture Department, got in touch with Jim Roehrig, head of the Backyard Bounty Program, and asked him to come out to pick up the fresh produce for donation.

Gonella said that he called the Foodbank about 8 months ago and told them about the Lifescape garden. Students are not allowed to pick the fruit, and Gonella didn’t want it to go to waste.

“This gleaning program has donated around 56,000 pounds of fruit so far, and eight percent of that I’ve done on my own,” Roehrig said.

Roehrig came up with the backyard bounty idea, and he approached the Foodbank with it because so many people grow fruit-bearing trees.

“I am retired, and was looking for a project to keep me busy,” he said.

Foodbank volunteers routinely come out to Santa Barbara homeowner’s properties and collect ripe produce. Roehrig said it is a win-win situation because the donors get a tax write-off, and people in need get help.

“It is an amazingly wonderful way to get connected with the community,” Roehrig said.

Ten volunteers came to the Lifescape garden. They climbed avocado trees, got on their hands and knees under orange trees, picked giant albino grapefruit, and packed it all into crates on Roehrig’s truck.

The Foodbank’s statistics show that last year it donated 8 million pounds of food, nearly 2 million pounds of which was fresh produce.

“Around 40 percent of the food that is donated goes to children, and around 60 percent of it goes to seniors who need help,” Roehrig said.

“Our whole focus is to get very nutritious, high quality food out to the people,” said Diane Durst, the director of corporate and individual giving at the Foodbank.

As sweat beaded up on the volunteer’s foreheads, they smiled and laughed, knowing they were picking the fruit for the right cause.

“I think it’s wonderful that they come and get the food,” student Pablo Favela said. “City College’s veggies are better than any genetically engineered veggies,” he added.

After the truck was loaded up, Roehrig and the volunteers headed over to Santa Barbara’s Foodbank warehouse on Hollister Avenue and delivered many crates of the Lifescape Garden harvest.

Once it was at the Foodbank, the fruit was instantly ordered.

Development intern Hannah Haehn said that it will go to special mobile farmers markets, set up in select church parking lots.

“I just wanted it to go to the people who need it most,” Gonella said. “I feel like it’s going to the best place possible and exactly where it should.”