Meet the Team Behind: The Giving Grove

The Giving Grove helps communities grow their own fresh, healthy food by planting neighborhood orchards and supporting local leaders every step of the way. By increasing access to nutritious food and creating greener, more connected neighborhoods, they're cultivating lasting change.Learn more about their work here! 

Can you explain your mission? 

The Giving Grove supports neighborhood volunteers in planting and caring for fruit trees, nut trees, and berry brambles that improve the urban environment, increase tree canopy and provide a sustainable source of free, organically-grown food for neighborhoods facing high rates of food insecurity. We have more than 740 orchards across the U.S. with the potential to grow over 4 million servings of free, fresh food annually while re-invigorating urban green spaces from coast to coast. Our orchards become a gathering place where neighbor meets neighbor, allowing the community to grow alongside the trees and brambles. 

How does your program work? 

Our program is based on neighborhood leadership, stewardship, increasing green space, and building a network of resources. The process starts with a neighborhood official contacting our local program manager to express interest. They work together to ensure growing an orchard is feasible, and then design an orchard that will best serve the community. During the right season for the region, planting and training begins. We provide detailed information on maintaining the orchard and lifetime support. After allowing the trees to establish a strong root structure in the first two years after planting, an orchard team can expect its first harvest in year 3 and can expect full production in year 8!

Can you tell me about your reach? 

A single Giving Grove orchard, with an average of 15 trees, has the ability to create over $7,000 in produce value per year, which is about 3,000 lbs of produce. The lifetime produce value is an average of $150,000. Orchards also remove up to 29 tons of carbon from the atmosphere over 25 years. We’re hoping to expand into 20 US cities, specifically targeting densely populated urban centers that have at least 75,000 residents who are classified as food insecure. There are 1,500 trained stewards and apprentices keeping our groves going, supported by thousands of volunteers across the country. 

How do communities utilize the orchards? 

Each orchard is a tool for bringing neighbors together, and every area uses it differently. One neighborhood used the planting of their orchard to engage parents in re-opening their shuttered local school. Another neighborhood organized their youth to create art in the orchard, leaving lasting additions for residents’ enjoyment. Many neighborhoods host harvest celebrations where residents pick, sample, and share the fruit. Some neighborhoods have added picnic tables, lawn chairs and pergolas to increase their enjoyment of their outdoor space. And one resident even held her wedding in the newly created green space!