Image by Priscilla Du Preez

WE WANT YOUR FRUIT

Are you tired of picking up fruit in the fall? Are all those apples or pears ending up in your green bin? Let us fix that!

 

Our Fruit Donor program allows you to donate your fruit and get paid for it! 

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You will receive payment in Calgary Dollars which you can spend at the Cider House up to 40% any cider purchase, in house or take out.

Apple & Pears

1 pound = $0.25 Cider Credit

cherries

1 pound = $1.00 Cider Credit

BERRIES

1 pound = $1.00 Cider Credit

* No Maximum

REGISTER YOUR TREE

with Calgary Harvest

DROP-OFF INFORMATION

AUGUST 29

-

OCTOBER 5

SATURDAY: 1 PM - 5 pm

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Sunday: 1 PM - 4 PM

#FRUITDONOR

Share photos of your picking party on social media.

Remember to tag @sunnycider_ca and use the #fruitdonor hashtag 

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Save time at the drop off by downloading the Calgary Dollars app on your phone and register for an account. Use SunnyCider as your referral.

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Calgary Dollars on Apple App Store

Calgary Dollars on Google Play

Where do we drop off fruit?

SunnyCider Cider House & Kitchen: 1-3300 14th Avenue NE, Calgary, AB Please come around to the back doors during drop off times.



When can I drop off the fruit?

August 29 through to October 30. Saturday: 1pm - 5pm Sunday: 1pm - 4pm



What fruit is acceptable?

- Apples - Crab Apples - Pears - Berries - Choke Cherries - Cherries - Currants (Not accepting Rhubarb at the moment) Fruit must be relatively clean, very little leaves and debris in with them. We will refuse deliveries with any sign of rotten fruit. We reserve the right to refuse any unacceptable fruit. Unripe fruit will be refused too. Check here to tell if your apples are ripe. Do you have something else like Grapes or Kiwis? Contact us at info@sunnycider.ca.



How do I know if my apples are ready to pick?

The best way to know if your apples are ready is to bite into it and look at the pips (seeds) inside. If they are starting to turn brown or have turned brown then they are ready to pick. They should come off the tree fairly easy. If your fruit is starting to fall off the tree, it’s probably time to pick. If you wait too long, the fruit tends to get mealy and there isn’t much juice left in them. When the fruit gets to this state, we can’t offer credits.



Do you take windfall apples/pears?

Unfortunately we can’t. While we wash every piece of fruit that comes into our cidery, we can’t guarantee there aren’t any other pathogens that may be on the ground. Especially in the case of pet yards. This will save us having to go through every piece of fruit that we get as well for rotten or bruised apples. It’s true what they say, one bad apple can ruin the whole bunch!



What about bruised apples/pears?

We can’t take bruised fruit because as mentioned above, one bad apple spoils the bunch. There is no guarantee we can get to pressing the apples immediately so it could set the whole batch off. If you do have any questions, please email us at info@sunnycider.ca.



What about scabby apples?

These we will take. They do make amazing cider! As long as they haven’t already fallen are become bruised. They can’t be picked up from the ground though.



Do you take crab apples?

Yes please! As long as they are of an edible variety, we will take them. Dolgo crabs are very popular here in Calgary and we will take ALL of them. Wickson crabs are another one you’ll see a lot of in Calgary. Here are some others you might find. If you are in doubt if they are edible, chances are they aren’t. Learn more here. And if you are unsure, please take a picture and send to info@sunnycider.ca and we can verify if we will take them or not. Don’t wait too long. Some crab apples go “mealy” and at that point we won’t take. If you bite into it and you feel the mealy texture, you’ve waited too long.



What do I use to collect the apples?

Whatever you have. If you have a big rubbermaid tote, you can use that and when you drop it off we will transfer to one of our larger apple bins. If you have big bags like the Ikea blue ones, these will work. Just don’t fill them to the point of not being able to lift.



How do the cider credits work?

It is exactly that. A credit towards cider and cider only. If you have $50 in cider credits, you may shop and take draught cider or bottled cider and use 40% of the purchase with your credits. 1 pound of apples/pears = $.25 in cider credits. 1 pound of cherries=$1 in credits and berries = $1 in credits. You don’t need to use the credit immediately, we will have an account with your information on it. We have partnered with Calgary Dollars to store any unused credits. We always take 40% Calgary Dollars for purchases. You can redeem them immediately for any cider in the cider house (on tap, takeaway, or growler fills). No further discounts are applied (Incider, HSCA card etc). Food and merchandise is excluded. We will open up a Calgary Dollars account and add credit to your account. This will be good for anywhere that accepts Calgary Dollars.



Will you prune my fruit tree?

This is something we’ve talked about within SunnyCider. We would love to be able to prune your tree but we don’t have the arborist expertise in order to do so. We are hoping to add an experienced arborist to our team and then be able to offer this service for a fee. As of right now, the answer is no. If you are an arborist that would like to partner with us, please reach out at info@sunnycider.ca with your proposal.



What if my apples don’t taste very good?

Chances are you may have a heritage cider apple tree. True cider apples aren’t very tasty and probably don’t have much use other than juicing and fermenting. Please donate! These are a rarity in Calgary.



How do you want my fruit packed?

Apples & Pears: Please bring fruit in boxes or rubbermaid style totes, not too heavy. 5 gallon pails work good too. We will transfer to our bins and give yours back after weighing. Try and have most of the leaves out. While we do wash, having leaves in the bins makes it really hard to process efficiently. Berries & Cherries: Please pack these in zip lock freezer bags so they will be ready for freezing. No leaves or stems in these please.



Do you take hail damaged fruit?

We do take hail damaged as long as the damage has been healed. So no soft spots, or bruising. If its just a scab over, then we will take it.



Can you come and pick my tree for me?

Unfortunately we don't have the means to come and pick your tree. If you aren't able to find someone to pick for you, try Calgary Urban Harvest.



FAQ