20/08/2026
What a night! Earlier this month, volunteers from the Darebin Fruit Squad and friends of DIVRS brought people together for a Scottish-style bush dance to raise funds for the Fruit Squad.
There was a lot of laughter and smiles as we learnt the moves and steps to dances, with music from Melbourne accordion player Dave Evans, delicious scones baked and donated by Alphington CWA and donated beautiful prizes for the raffle. It was such a fun, welcoming event.
A very special heartfelt thank you to Rachel, Roslyn, Mike and David for all the work that went into bringing the night together, and to for giving us such a great place to dance the night away. And thank you to everyone who came along, danced and contributed.
Together, we raised more than $2,300 to support the Fruit Squad.
For 14 years Fruit Squad volunteers have been knocking on doors across Darebin collecting leftover fruit from backyard trees that would otherwise go to waste. So far that’s more than 25 tonnes of fresh fruit rescued and shared with the community.
It’s never only been about the fruit. It’s also about connecting over the back fence, sharing stories about the trees and neighbours supporting each other across our community.
Today, 130 households open their gates to us. The fruit is combined with nutritious produce grown in DIVRS’s urban farms and shared with 500 people across Darebin every week. It’s a beautiful example of what can happen when a community chooses to make sure people don’t have to face challenges alone.
Want to know more about the Darebin Fruit Squad or DIVRS’s Urban Food Program? Get in touch and find out how you can be part of it.
