"Imagine 80 percent of your income is sitting on the trees and the processor tells you they don't want them.”

Carla Kitchen, regarding the first time in 36 years that she has had nowhere to sell the bulk of her nearly half a million pounds of apples. Apple growers across the nation are struggling with the same issue as Kitchen. Last year’s harvest was so plentiful, there was an oversupply that carried over to this year. Many growers simply left their apples to drop, but others were able to connect with apple relief programs that purchased unused apples to donate to hunger-fighting charities across the country. (NPR — Nov. 27, 2023)