Community Food Park Program 2025
Public Food Park Program
What is a Public Food Park? It’s a public park filled with food! But there is more to it than that. Many areas of the island have fruit trees planted but the food parks we design and install are a little different… we use Permaculture design methods and strategies to create Food Forests.
What is a Food Forest…
A food forest, also called a forest garden, is a diverse planting of edible plants that attempts to mimic the ecosystems and patterns found in nature. Food forests are three dimensional designs, with life extending in all directions – up, down, and out.
Generally, we recognize seven layers of a forest garden – the overstory, the understory, the shrub layer, the herbaceous layer, the root layer, the ground cover layer, and the vine layer. Using these layers, we can fit more plants in an area without causing failure due to competition, while also reducing maintenance needs.
These Permaculture Food Parks do not use any modern fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides... creating living ecosystems safe for all of the living beings!
This program will fund, design and implement 10, quarter acre Public Food Parks across the island in 2025. Interested communities are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.
Application Process
Step 1 - Email your interest to: grow@caribbeanagrogorestry.org
Step 2 - Schedule a phone interview.
Step 3 - Schedule a see visit with our team.
Step 4 - If your project is selected, we will begin designing and scheduling the implementation!
Please tell us:
- Your name
- Your community
- Why you want a food park in your community?
- Is the land a school, church, public park or other public space?
- Something interesting about you, your organization or community!
Program Details
Who can apply?
Community members in Puerto Rico who desire to be an “Anchor” for a Public Food Park.
Public Land
We invite public schools, churches & communities with available public land to apply. The intention is that the Food Park be open and available for use by the community.
What We Provide
We will provide the funding, design expertise, installation labor and the plants to support each community in building a Public Food Park in their area as well as supplying educational classes to the community Anchor and ongoing advice and support.
Community Responsibility
Each community will be responsible for getting community support and legal access to the proposed site as well as maintaining the project.