PQB Fruit Tree Project

Here it is, our new and improved Moilliet St. Community Pantry, located at 138 Moilliet St. in Parksville. Thanks to the home’s resident, Gaylene,, we were able to implement the idea last April 2020 as a way to share seedlings and garden produce with our Parksville neighbours. Our intention was to encourage more home-gardening and self-sufficiency, as well as just spreading a little kindness in a new, pandemic world. It grew over the summer and kept going through the winter months, with donations of canned goods and other food items.

We built the new stand with a grant from the PQB Foundation, and already it’s been embraced by members of the neighbourhood, who’ve been regularly donating food and pantry items.

Last year we shared over 1000 vegetable and greens seedlings, there, and many pounds of garden produce and local fruit, gleaned from neighbourhood trees. This year we hope to double that, or more.

Want to donate your produce, canned goods, seeds or seedlings? Generally you can just drop them off at the property at 138 Moilliet St. Otherwise, send an email to in**@******it.org or Facebook messenger.

Last Tuesday we were notified that our Neighbourhood Small Grant for the Moilliet Street Pantry was approved. It will allow us to keep veggies out of the sun and canned goods out of the rain. We hope to have it out before Christmas to help share a little gratitude. Expect it to look a little something like this

Join Us! Become a volunteer or member of the PQB Fruit Tree Project

Sign up for new volunteer opportunities coming up this harvest season. Besides volunteer tree pickers, we need people to help preserve the fruit and food we pick. Canners, jam makers, dehydrators, etc. We try to accommodate everybody’s desire to volunteer, but risk and availability can be a factor in how often you’re contacted. The homeowner comes first, pick leader second, volunteers third. We do our best ,but fruit picking is time sensitive.

Note, we carry $2M liability insurance to protect our volunteers

Our goal is to work with School District 69 to help increase learning spaces and opportunities on school campuses using greenhouses, hydroponics, and traditional gardens and food forests. We aim to build and facilitate garden programs in our schools, and plant fruit trees on school grounds with the produce to be used by the students and their families. Email pq******@***il.com if you think this project is right for your child’s school.

In May 2020 we received a Neighbourhood Emergency Response Grant to build and maintain a hydroponic organic greens system to grow kale, lettuce and Swiss chard for one of Parksville’s community organizations, Forward House. Thanks to Surly Dan’s Urban Farm and his expertise, we’ve been dropping off bins of organic food to the group ever since.

Forward House is a resource for young people with mental health challenges, located in Parksville. They offer support and safety to many local clients, including offering meals and fellowship to these somewhat vulnerable citizens.

We maintain a #foodisfree sharing table in downtown Parksville at 138 Moilliet St. at Hirst Ave. So far this year we’ve shared over 1000 seedlings for local gardens, plus many pounds of garden produce and canned staples. The aim is to build community and food security and sustainability, one small step at a time.

The PQB Fruit Tree Project uses volunteers to pick fruit trees using the standard model for this type of initiative. 1/3 of the fruit goes to the homeowner, if desired, 1/3 to the volunteer, and 1/3 to our group to distribute from our community garden and pantry. In 2024, we picked and distributed 2500 pounds of fruit.

FYI we are insured for $3 million in liability to protect us and you from any mishaps. Fill out the form below and we’ll be in touch as soon as we can.

PQB Fruit Tree Project is a Parksville / Qualicum non-profit organization committed to identifying and making use of our local food sources, including fruit trees and gardens, and distributing them to our local community. Through our MAC Community Garden, a 4000 square foot public garden, we help teach and inspire local citizens to grow more food.

We broke ground on the Community Garden in March 2023. We incorporate fruit trees and berries, hydroponics, a 16 by 20 BC Greenhouse, traditional raised beds, a food forest, and demonstration compost and compost tea stations.

In 2024, we grew, gleaned and distributed 2000 free seedlings, 1000 units of produce, and 2500 pounds of local fruit. This year, we aim to double that total. For more information, visit the garden or email pq******@***il.com. We are generally open from 10:00 ish to 6:00 ish, 7 days a week.

Visit our Facebook page for regular updates