APPLE JUICE INITIATIVE BEARS FRUIT
My first garden had a crab apple tree, the last one had eating apples, and my current one has cookers. But apart from making the odd bit of apple sauce for a Sunday roast, I never do anything with my autumn bounty.
However, one enterprising lady, Grace Willis in Buckinghamshire, has started a fruity community project to turn apples into cash for a local charity.
She says: “I started about three weeks ago with the intention of saving the tonnes of apples that are sadly going to waste up and down the country and turn them into apple juice to sell to friends and family, as well as in a local pub and two delis in Buckinghamshire.
“What started out as a small seed of an idea to make a possible 100 bottles has now turned into 1,000 bottles being produced (and counting) with a potential £4,000 being raised!”
As an ambassador for charity Autism Early Support, which provides early intervention for children with autism through their nurseries, Grace’s apple juicing idea could help many more communities raise much-needed funds.
She says: “Our local Morrisons supermarket is also now keen to help which could lead to opportunities for other communities. We only have a few more weeks left of apple season and it would be great to see other people come together to save rotting apples and raise money.”