Pumpkin season
Pumpkins are the favorite food of our residents!
Hi everyone, please read!
Due to many, many limitations this year, our pumpkin drive is going to look a bit different than before. We need YOUR help to make Pumpkin Season a great success this year.
What’s changed?
Over the last couple of years, we’ve been fortunate to work with Officer Dawn of the Austin Police Dept to coordinate massive pick ups at our key Austin drop off locations. Dawn has since retired, and though we’re VERY happy for her, we’ve lost her as a key resource in this process (thank you for all the help over the years, Dawn, we love you!!). We simply do not have the volunteer force to drive around and pick up 10,000 pumpkins. We wish we did, but we do not.
Additionally, we’ve dealt with a lot of dental disease in our aging residents this year, so though they love the pumpkins, sadly, many of our residents can no longer partake in this most treasured tradition.
So how can you help?
We need haulers. If you’re someone with a truck or trailer and have some time to give, let us know and we can coordinate an effort with you!
Organize & haul your own collection. Maybe you can caravan out with your neighbors to do a delivery. Deliveries must have a minimum of 30 pumpkins, and we’ll coordinate a drop off time where you’ll even be able to feed pumpkins to some of the pigs if you’d like!
Stay tuned for some more updates as things continue to develop on this page, including drop off opportunities. Join our newsletter too by scrolling to the footer of this page!
Reach out to pumpkins@centraltexaspigs.org with ideas, or if you’re able to help with the above!
We’re deeply sorry for any disappointment or frustration this may cause. We know that the Annual Pumpkin Haul has been a major staple of the community and something we look forward greatly, but we simply do not have the human volunteer support to volume of the pumpkin drive.
Thank you for your support and kindness and pumpkins!
— The CTPR Team
What pumpkins can be donated?
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Is it soft, moldy, or soupy?
Compost it! This won’t be good for the pigs.
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Is it carved?
Sorry, we cannot accept carved pumpkins, as they are already beginning to decompose and won’t last long enough to share with the pigs.
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Anything added to it?
If your pumpkin has been painted, chemically treated to preserve it, has sparkles, stickers, or anything “unnatural” added to it, then it’s best to discard in the trash. Also, please remove the store barcode/sticker before donating!
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What about gourds?
“Fairytale” pumpkins are all fine to donate, but small gourds are very hard to eat and not preferred. Traditional, orange pumpkins are the ideal pumpkin and preferred by all.
Thank you to all of the participating businesses, volunteers, & donors!
Special thanks to Amanda & her pig Carlton for sharing with our residents and not eating all the pumpkins himself!
Note:
CTPR is an all volunteer organization. We will do our best to get back to you in a timely fashion and appreciate your patience & understanding! We cannot guarantee pick ups from any location, and cannot accommodate drop offs for just a couple of pumpkins. CTPR is a private location and only open to visitors on an appointment basis. Please do not show up unannounced with your haul as we cannot guarantee we will be able to assist you!