Edible Landscaping at Kennedy Estates

On a warm summer evening in South Sacramento children and adults came together to share their favorite homemade dishes, make their own t-shirts and lemonade, and garner knowledge about nutrition, gardening, edible landscaping, and community resources. The event was the first annual Edible Landscaping Summer Celebration at Kennedy Estates.

Over 75 people of all ages and cultures participated in the potluck and edible landscaping festival held on June 14, 2005. California 5 a Day, Master Gardeners, Weed and Seed, and the Sacramento Hunger Commission all attended with informational booths set up for the benefit of residents. Though the booths gave a range of healthy living info, the underlying theme was edible landscaping. Edible landscaping is the use of food-producing plants, trees, and vines in place of traditional landscaping--a concept especially valuable to communities that may otherwise lack access to fresh nutritious fruits and vegetables.

The foods served at the potluck ran the full breadth of cultures and culinary tastes at Kennedy Estates with everything from spaghetti to spring rolls to grilled fruit. Much of the food featured in the dishes, such as apricots, peaches, oranges, apples, and lemons, will be budding on the trees at Kennedy Estates next season for all residents to enjoy. In addition to the opportunity for residents to swap recipes over the potluck, they were also invited to sign up for cooking classes at the community center. Kids got involved also as they stenciled their own t-shirts featuring their favorite fruits and vegetables and made their own lemonade.

The Hunger Commission has been involved in Edible Landscaping at Kennedy Estates for almost two years. Through the help of donations from Mercy Housing, the Arata Brothers Fund, Four Winds Growers, and Emighs Ace Hardware, over 70 fruit trees and hundreds of vegetables and herbs have been planted on the Kennedy Estates property. With a grant from the California Nutrition Network, the Sacramento Hunger Commission has been able to reinforce the edible landscaping project with community building events such as the summer celebration, edible plant giveaways, and tree care and planting days. Nutrition classes are also provided to residents of all ages in order to encourage consumption of the fresh fruits and vegetables growing in their yards.

The Kennedy Estates edible landscaping project not only benefits the residents of Kennedy Estates, but also serves as a successful model for other communities and housing projects to adopt and thus create a more food secure Sacramento.

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