Another Orchard?!

This week, I was planning on writing about how Bloomington should have more spaces like the Bloomington Community Orchard, where food can be grown sustainably in public spaces for everyone to contribute to and take part in. Then, I found out this is already a very real possibility. Bloomington is up for the same grant that gave us the Bloomington Community Orchard. This time, the orchard would be located in Will Detmer Park, and the fruit would be used for Hoosier Hills Food Bank .

The potential orchard at Will Detmer Park would not only have fruit trees but also garden plots for rent, demonstration gardens and classes to teach people about gardening.This is part of Hoosier Hills’ desire to have a greater quantity and quality of fresh food to provide to nearly 100 other nonprofits across eight Ind. counties .

The benefits of larger-scale, free local food production like this abound. It decreases reliance on outside food sources. It is sustainable, provided the farming is done organically. Not consuming the products of monoculture and agribusinesses does the environment a huge favor which is just one of many reasons that produce isn’t being shipped on fuel-inefficient vehicles from miles and miles away. It fosters and strengthens community and encourages working relationships between organizations within a community. In this case, the orchard with the local food bank, will then distribute the fresh fruit to food banks around Indiana. It provides fresh food to people who don’t typically have access to it. It promotes fresh, seasonal food, which has higher vitamin content than nonseasonal produce,  and is tastier.

The possibility of having another community orchard in Bloomington is exciting, and I encourage anyone who supports this initiative to show their support by voting for Bloomington every day through May at communitiestakeroot.com.

­—ccleahy@indiana.edu