Grażyna Fedorowicz loves nature and believes in the power of plant-based nutrition.

She had spent countless hours in her grandparents’ garden when growing up in Poland. Since childhood, harvesting fruits and vegetables has been bringing her immense joy and satisfaction. After moving to California, she noticed all the fruit trees around town which, sadly, were not being harvested and the wonderful fruits were going to waste year after year. At the same time, thousands of people in the community were struggling to provide healthy food for their families.

 

Early Opportunity

When a gleaning opportunity came up in February of 2020 through CV Sanitary District’s ZeroWaste event, she and her children signed up to participate in their first community harvest. Shortly after, supported by CVSan’s donation of gleaning tools, Grażyna and her family continued harvesting and donating fruit throughout the year and have been doing this ever since.

 

10,000 Pounds Gleaned!

In 2021, Grażyna and her children joined ForestRCleans and later brought the ‘Gleaning Castro Valley’ program to the organization. With neighbors who are willing to share their fruit and with the help of friends and volunteers, the gleaning program recently surpassed 10,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables donated to food banks since March 2020!

In addition to leading ForestRGleans and participating in ForestRCleans, Grażyna and her children regularly pick up trash in natural spaces they visit. Grazyna also serves on the Board of her HOA, where she introduced the Communal Organics Bin Program to redirect nutrients back to the soil. When she is not volunteering, she is either spending time with her family and friends or developing molecular diagnostic tests that spare patients from unnecessary surgeries and provide timely and accurate diagnoses.

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