Fruit for the hungry

From underneath the apple tree, you can feel the burden. The tree’s long, dark branches are weighed down by appetizing red spheres, forming a cylinderical canopy around the trunk.

In a few minutes, the trees will be relieved when energetic pickers arrive. From then on, the apples will themselves become the relievers of a greater affliction: They will provide food for those who otherwise might not eat at all.

Rick and Pam Huffstutter, owners of Huffstutter Orchards in New Franklin, said they have donated more than 2 million pounds of apples over the past 20 years to food banks in Missouri. This year, however, they are going a step further in an effort to encourage community involvement in the project.

Since the middle of August, groups of volunteers from Columbia have spent Saturdays picking apples for the Central Missouri Food Bank. The CMFB has already received more than 20,000 pounds due to the efforts of volunteers. All of the apples have been distributed to those in need. In the process, burdens of all kinds are being relieved.

Though the apples are stored at the Huffstutters’ farm, the orchard itself is owned by John Brown, who recently purchased the land to build a house.

“I was looking for a place of serenity,” he said.

What he got was a lot of orchard that he didn’t know what to do with. That’s when Rick Huffstutter suggested he let volunteers come in to pick.

“It’s the greatest thing we can do with the apples,” Brown said.

Holding two freshly picked apples, he added, “You see these? They will transfer universal energy to the hearts and stomachs of others.”

After a bumpy ride in Huffstutter’s Chevrolet, Saturday’s volunteers — from churches and schools throughout Columbia — arrived and got to work. Within an hour, the first load of apple-filled boxes was headed back to be chilled.

“It’s a tremendous idea,” said Kent Pierce, associate pastor of Campus Lutheran Church. “It is a helpful cause and teaches people about service.”

The church alone brought eight cars full of people to participate.

Kit Brewer, agency relations coordinator for the Central Missouri Food Bank, agreed that they benefit from the strong sense of volunteerism in Columbia.

“We have volunteers every single day,” he said. But, he added, they always need volunteers.

“There are only a few people who are paid staff,” he said, referring to the CMFB and the agencies affiliated with the food bank. “The vast majority are run by volunteers.”

The food bank is partnered with 143 nonprofit agencies in 33 counties throughout the state that feed everyone from low-income and abused children to the homeless, Brewer said. So the apples are going to good use — exactly what Brown wanted.

Brown said he hopes to continue the initiative in years to come.

“I’d like to make it into a community project to build a sense of responsibility,” he said.