Planting orchards for schoolchildren worldwide

Dear friends,

We have been very busy in Mississippi this spring planting hundreds of fruit trees in orchards, including with the help of students and families at local schools.

Below are each of the Mississippi school orchard plantings from the past few weeks:

Midtown Public Charter Primary School

This orchard is a revival of food-growing traditions in midtown Jackson, which was once home to a large community garden producing tens of thousands of pounds of food for the community. The 45 newly planted trees will revive and expand this tradition by producing well over 2,000 pounds of fresh fruit each year once the orchard is mature. This will include several varieties of apples, pears, cherries, figs, pecans, persimmons, as well as blackberries. An additional 50 trees were distributed to community members and families in order to spread the fruit tree wealth, resulting in nearly 100 trees total for the neighborhood!

Little Samaritan Montessori

This smaller 13-tree orchard at Little Samartian will join the school's raised beds as a means to both feed the young student population as well as provide experiential, hands-on educational opportunities in science, botany, and healthy eating.

Parks Elementary School

This orchard was planted right before a large storm rolled into town, creating a buzz of excitement and energy during the orchard planting event. Students and teachers joined family members to plant the 15 apples, apricots, figs, peaches, pears, and plums that will one day provide fresh, locally- and organically-grown sources of food for the school!

Pearman Elementary School

An enthusiastic group of students joined teachers, faculty, and parents to plant 16 trees at their campus. Lots of hard work paid off and now the newly planted orchard is being cared for with regular work days amongst the trees.

DM Smith Elementary School

The 15 apple, fig, peach, pear, and plum trees from DM Smith will join and be connected up to an existing orchard on campus to expand the food-growing capacity of the school.

Cleveland Central Middle School

This 30-tree campus orchard was requested by the school garden club as a way to provide not only fresh foods but also learning opportunities on how to grow healthy, sustainable foods. The new trees include cherry, peach, plum, pomegranate, apple, and pecan and will be tended and cared for by both students and faculty.

These six new schoolyard orchards are the result of your support.

We believe every child deserves fresh food and hands-on experiences with growing food. Please consider donating today to help us plant more fruit trees with students across the country and the world!

To a fruitful future for all children,

The FTPF Team