Fruit in the Urban Foodscape

Helena Moncrieff, author of The Fruitful City: The Enduring Power of the Urban Food Forest

Helena Moncrieff, author of The Fruitful City: The Enduring Power of the Urban Food Forest, talks about the many types of fruit that can be found growing in cities.

Fruit plants often reflect the history of an area. Grape vines are common in neighbourhoods where a lot of residents have Mediterranean family roots; cherry trees are common in areas with large Ukrainian populations.

Beyond private yards, Toronto has the relatively new Ben Nobleman Community Orchard, while Victoria, British Columbia has a well established public orchard movement.

Moncrieff became interested in urban fruit—and the people and stories behind it—when her daughter joined Not Far From The Tree, a fruit picking and sharing project in Toronto.

Her favourite fruit to forage in Toronto is the serviceberry.