Abundance in the City

The word foraging often conjures either pastoral imagery of country folk gathering wild fruits and berries in the forest with woven baskets or, possibly, a less idyllic scenes of rummaging through refuse. While those are adequate definitions on each end of the spectrum, modern-day foraging lies somewhere in between.

Imagine walking through your neighborhood during any season in Southern California and picking fresh fruit to bring home for yourself and your family. From perfectly ripe figs, grapes, olives, apples, berries, passionfruit, feijoas, loquats, sapotes, citrus of every variety, to unusual fruits like natal plums, lilly pillys and strawberry tree fruit are abundant on city streets. These fruit trees often go unnoticed, unharvested and leave a mess every year. Urban foraging makes use of what normally would go to waste, increasing food security while reducing the carbon footprint of relying on commercially packaged foods.

GET TO KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS

Not everyone has the space or capacity to grow their own food, so joining forces with others who do can be beneficial for both parties. Check in with elderly or busy neighbors who might not be able to make use of their excess fruits, or folks who have had their fill early in the season are often eager to pass along the excess. Express your gratitude by gifting the owners with a jam, preserves or a treat made with the bounty.

IS IT LEGAL?

Collecting fruit that hangs over sidewalks and alleys is perfectly legal but it is illegal to trespass and harvest from private property without permission. Be sure to check local laws in your area. Often a simple knock at the door and asking the owner to collect any excess fruit usually ends successfully. Property owners who have mature trees, especially citrus, often will have more fruit than they can use and are usually happy to share. Foraging is generally off limits in public parks and open spaces in California. Other regions in the country are beginning to become more forager-friendly, allowing certain harvests in city parks. Harvest only what you need and will use, leaving the rest for hungry birds and other foragers who may be in need of sustenance.

IS IT SAFE?

It is important to know exactly what you’re picking. There are plenty of urban ornamental plants that have toxic fruits. Check out a regional field guide such as Foraging California by Christopher Nyerges, or take a class to learn first-hand what to look for and what to avoid.

As people learn to find and forage for food in their neighborhoods, questions arise about where and in what conditions the plant is growing. Is it in a high-traffic area among trash and where street runoff accumulates? Is there lead in the soil?

Foraging creates a connection that makes us acutely aware of what contaminates our foods. When we begin to appreciate the value in our environment, we are more apt to protect it. As we build a relationship with the trees and plants that offer their fruits year after year, we directly feel the impact if they are sprayed with poisonous herbicides, if the soil becomes contaminated with toxic waste, or if they are cut down and roots covered by concrete.

Urban foraging can be a great way to get outside and connect with your family and community while deepening your relationship with your food. Just be sure to check local laws in your area and get to know your neighbors.

GET TO KNOW YOUR AREA

Endless Orchard, a project of Fallen Fruit (fallenfruit.org) offers neighborhood maps that show where fruit trees grow in the city. Users can add their observations about the maps to the database. Other groups, classes and opportunities are on the rise. An increasingly popular local foraging group for women, Women Forage SoCal, started by forager Bat Vardeh, brings the foraging (and foragingcurious) community together with free group events and by sharing locations of overabundant and neglected fruit.