Calgary cider company accepting unwanted crab apples through Leftovers Foundation

Two cans of SunnyCider's Crab Apple Cider from 2021, made from crab apples gathered from the company's 2021 Fruit Donor Drive. (Facebook/Sunny Cider)

A Calgary brewery that makes handcrafted hard ciders is teaming up with the Leftovers Foundation in an effort to reduce local food waste.

The Leftovers Foundation is a large Canadian food rescue organization. Its Home Harvest program connects Calgarians who have excess fruit and veggies growing in their backyards with volunteers who can harvest it.

On Monday, officials with the Leftovers Foundation announced they are now be working with Calgary brewer SunnyCider to "upcycle" excess fruit they can't find anyone to take – specifically crab apples.

"There doesn’t seem to be a lot of interest in crab apples from service organizations, but there are a lot of them growing in the community that end up going to waste," explained a release.

"SunnyCider is a local cider house that has the ability to process these less-wanted or over-abundant fruits into delicious 100 per cent local ciders."

If you're interested in using the Leftovers Rescue Food App, it's available for free on the App Store and Google Play. Through it, volunteers can sign up for "Home Harvest" routes to complete as an individual or as a group.

"Simply download the Rescue Food app, signup, and start volunteering," said Leftovers Foundation spokesperson Heidi Bench. "You can pick the harvests that work best for your schedule and volunteer as often as you like—no regular commitment required.

"The food harvested in our backyards is arguably the healthiest, most sustainable food around. Home Harvest ensures none goes to waste and increases community access to locally-grown food."

SunnyCider launched in the Calgary community of Sunnyside almost ten years ago and produces four different ciders as well as various limited-edition releases.