JACKSON, Wyo. — Got lingering crabapples or chokecherries in the backyard? Farmstead Cider wants to take those off the hands of locals in exchange for free hard cider.
Farmstead will host a block party Thursday night from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Bird, where they’ll accept cherries, apples, service berries, rose hips, apricots and more. Those who donate their fruits will receive a can of Farmstead Cider in exchange.
The initiative was born out of a desire to mitigate animal conflicts by reducing animal attractants in town.
“We’re trying to incentivize people to do what they should already be doing as proactive members of our community,” Farmstead co-founder Orion Bellorado told Buckrail. “We all have a little bit of responsibility to try to make things as sustainable as possible for our wildlife neighbors.”
Bellorado said his team personally harvested more than 60,000 pounds of apples from the area last year. Decreasing these tempting bear treats helps to keep bears out of human zones.
“We do our darnedest to take as much of that out of play as possible,” Bellorado said.
Farmstead has been at it since 2017. The org threw a similar Harvest Party last year.
Those who can’t make it to Thursday’s block party are encouraged to drop off their unwanted apples at Farmstead’s bottle shop. Anything that doesn’t get turned into cider will be used for the farm’s compost.
Thursday’s event will also host representatives from JH Bear Solutions and Teton County.
