Edible Landscape

The Incredible Edible Idea

While visiting a renovated low-income apartment complex in Pomona California that had been turned into a lush, food-producing garden, Hunger Commission program manager Peggy Roark was struck by the idea of edible landscaping. It just made sense, and was definitely something that could be developed here in Sacramento. The edible landscaping project at Park Williams apartments in Pomona was implemented by Cal Poly professor Paul Sommers and a class of his students. To the best of our knowledge it was the first project of its type, but it has proved extremely successful. Though planting only began in 2001, the landscaping at Park Williams now supplies residents with a year-round supply of fresh fruits and vegetables, all of species from their choosing!
Edible Landscaping: The Concept

Though intuitively logical, edible landscaping has had very little practice, at least in the United States. Hundreds of years ago Old World gardens were filled with productive fruits and vegetables, but as 'farming' became more associated with peasantry, and 'gardening' became more associated with the upper classes, productive landscapes and gardens disappeared and were replaced by ornamental species. Edible landscaping is a renaissance of how we think about what we plant. If the words 'Edible Landscaping' inspire visions of the Garden of Eden, then you are getting the idea.

Surrounding low-income housing with food-producing landscaping logically furthers the Hunger Commissions mission to improve access to food that is affordable, nutritious, and culturally appropriate, but access is just one element of edible landscaping. Our project hopes to draw people out of their apartments or homes and bring the community together through the universal bond of food. Tying nutrition education to the palpable, and palatable, fruits of their labor will help teach residents about their nutritious value.

The Kennedy Estates Edible Landscaping Project is one of the first of its kind in California, maybe the United States, but we hope that it is a concept that spreads! Using the Kennedy Estates project as a model, we have created an Edible Landscaping Guide and Toolkit to provide advice to other individuals or organizations interested in instituting edible landscaping to improve food security in low-income areas.