A ‘food forest’ planned to help the needy

A food forest [Greenability]

A new nonprofit organization called Food Uniting Neighbors (FUN) is planning community gardens and a “food forest” to provide nutritious, organic fruits and vegetables to community members in need.

The group hopes to get its first garden planted this year in raised beds at Peace Lutheran Church on Lincolnia Road, says the group’s director, Renee Miceli

A vegetable garden and food forest will be planted at First Christian Church on Leesburg Pike in Seven Corners.

A food forest is “edible landscaping” consisting of a low-maintenance multi-layer collection of trees and plants that produce food. The one envisioned by FUN would have native pear, plum, or other fruit trees, nut trees like hazelnut or chestnut, and shrubs like raspberries and blueberries, Miceli says. The lowest layer could consist of edible ground cover, such as strawberry plants, herbs, and mushrooms.

The food forest would take about three to five years to get going, she says.

The all-volunteer FUN group also plans to give talks on food nutrition in schools and host food tastings, as some of its crops, like paw paw and persimmons, might not be familiar to local residents.

Fairfax County has approximately 58,000 residents, including 23,000 children, with food insecurity – without reliable access to sufficient quantities of affordable nutritious food – according to the Fairfax Food Council.