Rules for fruit foraging: Ask first, pick second

As cherries, blackberries, raspberries, apples, pears, plums, figs, and more are ripening, it’s likely you’re seeing fruit in your neighbors’ yards or maybe in parks. Are you allowed to pick? Let’s look at the etiquette around foraging for fruit.

Scenario 1: You encounter fruit-filled branches or bushes hanging over the sidewalk

The legality of harvesting edible plants depends on where the fruit is located and who owns the land. The fundamental principle governing foraging in Lane County and across the state is that you must have permission to harvest from any property. Also, be aware of your surroundings and only pick fruit in areas where you feel safe.

If a fruit-laden tree is clearly located within someone’s yard or driveway, you should ask permission to pick from it. The location of the tree trunk determines ownership of the tree. City of Eugene regulations say whoever owns the land that holds more than 50% of the base of the tree owns the tree.

Blackberries growing in public rights of way, along sidewalks, or in other public spaces may seem like free pickings, but the same permission rules apply. If a tree or bush is privately owned, but the branches hang out into the sidewalk, you still need to ask. 

“I would never recommend going into someone’s yard to pick,” said Heather Keisler Fornes, executive director of the Portland Fruit Tree Project. “If you see a private-property sign, obviously, don’t go there. Even if it doesn’t have a sign, that space is probably owned by somebody. A field that looks abandoned may be privately owned but just not be maintained.”

Scenario 2: You find fruit in a public right of way

There are no county or statewide rules specifically regarding urban foraging. Oregon has a law on the books about wildflowers that uses broad language that could apply to fruit as well as flowers. It says, essentially, wildflowers can’t be injured. 

This law is open to interpretation. If you interpret it to apply to fruit, most urban foragers believe you’re probably safe to pick in public areas as long as you’re not harming the vegetation.

If you’re in a state park, you are allowed to pick up to one gallon per person per day of berries or fruit for personal consumption.

It’s a different story within a city park. City of Eugene park rules say vegetation “may not be picked, cut, mutilated, or removed” from any park or open space area without written permission from the city.

Lane County park rules say “no person may destroy or damage anything contained within a Lane County park nor remove any item or substance from a Lane County park.” But that rule is listed under “destruction of property.” So if you’re being respectful of the plants and only picking, not mutilating, you’re probably OK to pick.

The area between a sidewalk and the street is public property, but even that is a gray area. 

The city of Eugene defines the public way or right of way as the entire area from curb to curb on paved streets, but it also includes property beyond the curb. On streets with sidewalks, the planting strip between the curb and sidewalk, as well as the sidewalk area itself, are within the public right of way. In areas without sidewalks, the public right of way may extend several feet beyond the curb or end of road surfacing.

Even in this defined public area, Keisler Fornes recommends that people ask first before picking. 

“A lot of people are still going to get cranky if you pick things from trees that they view as theirs, even if it is in the right of way, which is public land,” she said. 

She also noted that some residents intentionally plant fruit or berries in their yards or in the right-of-way strips so that people can grab a handful as they walk by. In a case like that, Keisler Fornes recommends the residents place a sign to make it abundantly clear that the fruit is up for grabs. If there’s no sign, ask first. 

Scenario 3: You’re an owner with fruit to share

If you have a tree in your yard that’s dripping with fruit or you’re a farmer with too much produce growing, there are organizations that can help you harvest. 

Gleaning is an ancient practice of farmers, allowing groups to collect, or glean, remnants from the field after harvest was done. In modern times, gleaning groups collect from farms, backyard gardens, farmers markets, grocery stores, and restaurants — anywhere food can be collected and redistributed, rather than going to waste. As fruit and produce starts to ripen, gleaning organizations get busy.

Eugene Area Gleaners is a volunteer-run organization founded in 2009. In 2023, EAG collected and distributed 44,595 pounds of fresh produce from 224 gleans. (Disclosure: I have been involved with EAG for the past seven years and have been a board member for the past four.)

Eugene Area Gleaners has a “Share a Harvest” form that you can fill out. Someone will get back to you to ask a few questions and get a glean scheduled at a time that works for you. Then, a small group of gleaners will show up at the appointed time and pick whatever is being harvested. Volunteer pickers are accompanied by a trained “glean leader,” and gleaning is done based on the donor’s preferences.

These gleans happen year-round, but most gleans are scheduled for mid- to late-summer and early fall, when the majority of produce is ripe.

Once collected, the gleaned produce is weighed for tracking purposes. Some gleaned produce is shared with the donor, if they want it, and then distributed to locations where EAG members can access the produce and take it home.

The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Act exempts gleaning groups and individuals from liability due to people eating donated food. The act covers farmers, restaurants, grocery stores, or individual people donating food, and people or organizations gleaning the food. 

Essentially, the act removes liability from people donating food that could potentially make someone sick, as long as the food is received and distributed “in good faith.” 

If you are eating food you picked from a blackberry bush along the bike path, a tree hanging over the sidewalk, or you picked up windfallen fruit from the sidewalk itself, you’re taking the risk by eating it. 

But if someone hurts themselves on your property — they fall off a ladder while picking fruit from your backyard tree that you gave them permission to pick from — you could be liable for their injury. 

“If you allowed them into your yard and then they hurt themselves, you could potentially see some issues for that,” Keisler Fornes said. “One of the benefits of having somebody like a gleaners group come out and pick is that the risk is not landing on people’s homeowner insurance.”

Scenario 4: You’re hunting for free fruit

FallingFruit.org is a website managed by a nonprofit organization. The interactive map shows the location of trees that could be picked. Users contribute their own trees and trees they know about. 

The drawback to this is that people can add trees that aren’t their own. So again, the guiding wisdom when using a resource like this is to ask yourself if the location seems safe and if it is marked as private property. You’ll still need to ask permission to pick, but at least the map can alert you to the fact that the tree is there.