Photo courtesy of the West End Community Orchard project

Instead of limiting food distribution to donations of canned goods and jars of peanut butter, one organization has rounded up fresh produce from Hartford’s backyards.

The Open Hearth, a shelter on Charter Oak Avenue, has received 24 pounds of fruit from trees that are part of the West End Community Orchard.

The community orchard is not a single plot of land, but the collection of trees from yards, medians, and parks. This season the project has helped plant fifteen new fruit trees in one neighborhood.

To ensure good production and healthier trees overall, the Orchard will be hosting a pruning event in March 2015.