National Pick Strawberries Day is celebrated on May 20th. Not to be confused with National Strawberry Day, this is National Pick Strawberries Day. First, note the plural of strawberry in the name of the day. And it is pretty clear that National Pick Strawberries Day is an invention designed by strawberry producers to promote the fruit. And that’s OK in my book. Everyone loves strawberries and there is absolutely nothing wrong with promoting a natural product.
So with that cleared, up National Pick Strawberries Day is celebrated on May 20th every year.
And just to complete the picture, National Strawberry day is celebrated in February.
The Good News About Strawberries
On the positive side there is the longing for the taste of strawberries. Other fruit are all lovely in their own ways. But ask almost anyone, and strawberries will have a special place in the pantheon of fruit. And it will take but the mention of the name to bring a memory to their taste buds.
We designed a greeting card around the longing for strawberries.
It’s this leaving card featuring a fruit tart on a white plate with knife and fork and text ‘Sorry You’re Leaving. I’ll Miss You More Than Strawberries’.
On the downside, we are faced with a double assault on this wonderful fruit. In fact, we are faced with an assault on all fruit grown in the UK, and on imported fruit.
A Double Whammy For National Pick Strawberries Day
Unfortunately, in the UK this year there is a double whammy. First there was Brexit, with the ban on migrant workers coming to the UK. Then came Coronavirus. There were even calls for those who had been furloughed from work to go and pick strawberries. This is fruit that is otherwise in danger of rotting in the fields.
When we designed the anti-Brexit cards, we feared the impact of Brexit on agriculture, at least in the short term. In the longer term there are plans to restructure land use. The idea is to make it more environmentally friendly and yet retain its productivity. These are laudable aims. But in the short term there is fruit rotting in the fields, hence our ‘Bit’ greeting card.
Fruit Rotting In The Fields
“There is fruit rotting in the fields! Following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, and pursuant to Order in Parliament, the Ministry Of Labour is directed to require all men and women between the ages of 15 and 55 to report to their nearest Labour Office. Your Country Needs You. Do Your Bit!”
It’s a spoof we designed in the style of a World War II Ministry Of Information poster. It encourages people to ‘do their bit’ to support the miserable fact that Britain had withdrawn from the European Union. And it did so without a plan for how to pick fruit. If only that was the worst of the country’s problems.