Posted by Councilmember Englander on May 29, 2015 at 12:00 PM

This year marked the 10th Annual Citrus Sunday, an annual event where volunteers mobilize to collect and donate citrus fruit to benefit local food pantries. Due to the particular agricultural history of the Northwest San Fernando Valley and the abundance of citrus, Citrus Sunday continues to serve as a community wide effort to benefit those who are less fortunate.

On May 17, 2015 we collected a grand total of 16,442 pounds of citrus. We benefited greatly from the participation of our co-sponsors including Food Forward, a local organization that assists in the picking and collection of fruit and the distribution of the produce to nearby pantries and the Valley Interfaith Council, a longstanding partner of this event that runs many food pantries of their own.

We also wanted to recognize the tremendous work of the Neighborhood Council participants and outstanding committee members from the following organizations: West Hills Neighborhood Council, North Hills West Neighborhood Council, Granada Hills South Neighborhood Council, Granada Hills North Neighborhood Council, Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council, Northridge South Neighborhood Council, Sherwood Forest Home Owners Association, Northridge West Neighborhood Council, Northridge East Neighborhood Council, Old Granada Hills Residents' Group, Temple Ahavat Shalom, Chatsworth Neighborhood Council and Reseda Neighborhood Council for their wonderful service.

If you are interested in donating your backyard Citrus prior to next year's Citrus Sunday, please contact: Rachael Teslik, Harvest coordinator, Food Forward at samantha@foodforward.org or 818.530.4125. You may also visit foodforward.org or http://www.vic-la.org/ for more information about the Valley Interfaith Council.

-Mitchell Englander, Councilmember Twelfth District