Introducing: The Juice Project

Please note that The Juice Project is currently on pause as we were not able to juice apples in 2022. However, please stay tuned for more updates in 2023!

The Juice Project is OFTP’s social enterprise. In years when we are able to do a big apple juicing event, this enterprise supports our continued programming and charitable operations, and delivers tasty apple juice to vendors near you!

In 2020 and 2021, we were selling 3L boxes of 100% Okanagan Apple Juice made from apples that were harvested at Braden Hill Orchard in Summerland, BC by our incredible volunteers. This juice was pressed, pasteurized, and boxed shortly after harvest. At 2021’s juicing event, the pulp from the juiced apples went straight back onto the soil under the trees to act as mulch and fertilizer – talk about reducing waste!

During juicing years, you will often find us at community craft fairs or at McMillan Farms‘ pumpkin patch using our juice to brew hot apple cider and ladling it out by the cup. A little cinnamon, a little nutmeg, and a handfull of other spices makes our apple juice the perfect warming beverage on a cold Okanagan fall or winter night. You will also find our juice for sale by the box through the vendors listed below.

So, when do we pick all of these apples?

Each year we host our Great Apple Harvest, an incredibly fun and rewarding weekend for the Okanagan Fruit Tree Project Society. Over a couple of days, we harvest as many apples as we can to make apple juice.

What’s so wonderful about this weekend is that everyone involved benefits in some amazing ways. The orchardist gets a tax receipt to support their business. Thousands of additional pounds of fresh apples get harvested and delivered to schools and non-profits throughout the Okanagan. Our volunteers are able to take part in a super fun weekend of apple picking – fresh air, exercise, and building community – and take home apples for themselves to eat, cook and preserve!

In summary, the event helps us reduce food waste, supports schools and non-profits who need produce donations for their food programs, helps us honour and celebrate our local food producers, provides an opportunity for community members like you to connect with the land, and learn about how our food is grown. It’s a win-win-win-win-win. FIVE WINS!!!!!