The landscape in Kansas City is changing. Local organizations are teaming up to grow a self-proclaimed “fruit forest” in the heart of the city. This shovel ready project is slated for an unlikely location, Swope Park.
The Giving Grove is partnering with the Kansas City Urban Farm Coop and KC Parks to plant roughly 150 fruit trees at this newest urban orchard in Swope Park (north of the dog park). Please consider joining us on Saturday, April 14th. We will start the festivities at 8:30 a.m. and have two different volunteer shifts from 9-12 and 12:30-3:30.
Sign up HERE!
KCUFC, recipient of a public improvement grant, wants to see more healthy options in the poorest neighborhoods of Kansas City. “Income, address and transportation shouldn’t determine anyone’s access to healthy, affordable food,” Taylor says. “We want people to see all green spaces as a potential resource to boost public health and fight hunger. And Kansas City has plenty of green space.”
Once all phases are complete, the team expects it to be one of the largest urban orchards in the country. The site is projected to yield over 1 million pounds of fresh fruit over the next 20 years.