Apples in Norway

Local apples going to waste
There are ripe apple trees everywhere but I can't find Norwegian apples in our supermarket. It's hard to understand the logic behind this. When I go from runs around Oslo, I'm tripping over fallen apples, there are so many. Almost all the houses with yards have a few trees. There are crab apples, green apples, and red apples planted along the streets, near schools and in the courtyards of hospitals and even office buildings. And, some varieties taste great (I tried a few over by the university).

Fading food traditions
Of course, these trees must have been planted for some reason other than decoration. They make too much of a mess to be merely lawn ornaments. From what I hear, apples used to be prized, seasonal treats. Norwegians would gather them in the fall and keep them in their basements, wrapped in newspaper. Dried apples were enjoyed at Christmas time.

The lure of perfect foreign substitutes
But, I don't see people harvesting or using local apples these days. We can buy large, perfect apples from Chile, New Zealand, everywhere except Norway. They're available in the same generic varieties year round, without fail, and look exactly the same as the apples back home at the Safeway in Palo Alto or San Francisco.



Solutions
Still, it's absurd that so many calories are wasted while seasonal food traditions fade into the past, and so much energy is spent to bring in foreign substitutes. I wonder if Oslo has any grassroots organizations trying to rectify the situation. If solutions like the ones listed below exist in San Francisco, they might be around here as well.

1. Food for the needy
In San Francisco, a number of groups salvage produce from backyards for charities or other purposes.
Free Farm Stand
The Valley of Hearts Delight
EcoMagic
Second Harvest Food Bank

2. Resurrecting traditions
A merging trend called the Slow Foods movement reconnects people with local foods and their food heritage.

3. CSAs
CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture projects are local farms that supply food directly to people living in their immediate area. Members sign up for seasonal or year long subscriptions and receive boxes of produce on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. While this won't directly solve the local apple problem, CSA members who eat local foods become more in tune with the seasons. In place like Oslo, CSAs would probably function for half the year thought they might be able to supply eggs, meat, dairy, and staples like potatoes year-round. I did find one article mentioning three pilot CSA project in the Oslo, but they may still be in their infancy. Unlike the standard wheat farms that I've seen around here, CSAs grow a wide variety of produce on one plot of land. Sometimes CSAs offer work-trades where members can volunteer on the farm in exchange for reduced subscription fees. A great example of this is Hidden Villa farm in Los Altos, California.