Bethany and Cedar Mill residents with apple, pear, and plum trees dropping fruit this summer now have a west-side option to put that produce to use: a refrigerated donation hub that opened July 23 at Bethlehem House of Bread, 9055 S.W. Locust St. in Tigard.

The outdoor fridge is the Portland Fruit Tree Project's first location west of the Willamette River. Until now, the nonprofit's only drop-off point sat near Alberta Park in Northeast Portland, requiring Washington County donors to haul fruit across the river.

An $8,000 grant from the Starseed Foundation funded the unit, according to KPTV. Portland Fruit Tree Project Executive Director Heather Keisler Fornes told the station on July 24 that proximity matters for quality: "If we can just harvest it and drop it straight off, it's going to stay a lot fresher. … The faster something is harvested and distributed, the higher its nutritional value is."

The timing is urgent. Roughly 70,000 Oregonians have lost or seen reductions in food aid benefits following changes to federal work requirements under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, according to the Oregon Department of Human Services, as reported by Street Roots. An additional 300,000 have been affected by new eligibility rules. Jeff Lowery, pastoral director at Bethlehem House of Bread, said fresh produce is one of the most requested items at the pantry yet often unavailable because of cost and limited supply.

"We get much less food from our partners like Oregon Food Bank, so finding local partnerships like this is the wave of the future to meet the demand," Lowery told KPTV on July 24.

The Portland Fruit Tree Project collected 28,000 pounds of donated fruit at its Portland hub last year, according to the Beaverton Valley Times. The organization said growing demand from community partners accelerated the west-side expansion from a long-term goal to an immediate 2026 priority.

Oregon Rep. Sue Rieke Smith, Tigard Mayor Yi-Kang Hu, and Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon Policy Manager Amanda Orozco attended the July 23 ribbon-cutting. Orozco said pantries across Oregon are running out of fresh produce, with families who once left with five cans of food now going home with one.

How to donate backyard fruit

Harvest and sort your produce, then bring it to the outdoor fridge at 9055 S.W. Locust St., Tigard. Weigh it on the provided scales, scan the QR code inside the fridge to alert the Portland Fruit Tree Project, and you'll receive a thank-you note and tax receipt. Donors can also still drop off at Leaven Community Center, 5431 N.E. 20th Ave., Portland.

The nonprofit's volunteer calendar already lists a Gravenstein apple harvest in Aloha and multiple Southwest Portland harvests for late July and August. Details and sign-ups are available at portlandfruit.duplie.com.