Bring Fruit Trees to Native American Reservations

December 2025

Dear friends:

As we look back on 2025, a year that was challenging for many, and for us as we grappled with the loss of federal funding, we are grateful for all the fruitful opportunities that have emerged despite the setbacks. Together with our partners, supporters, and the communities we work alongside, we planted over 47,000 fruit trees across five countries. We planted with hundreds of communities and thousands of participants, all united by a commitment to strengthen neighborhoods, improve food access and nutrition, support sustainable farming practices, and care for the ecosystems and communities we share.

What follows are a few projects from this year that stood out as especially meaningful, along with the voices of people who helped bring them to life.

Community Orchards Across the United States. Our work continues to focus on planting fruit trees in places where fresh, locally grown food can make a real difference, such as schools, community gardens, public parks, and directly with families growing fruit at home.

In the Twin Cities of Minnesota, we partnered with Urban Roots and Black Radish/Sanneh Foundation to both plant new and expand orchards from previous years. These spaces serve as outdoor classrooms, gathering places, and sources of fresh fruit in neighborhoods where access to healthy food can be limited. This year also launched our Fruitful Mississippi and Fruitful California tours, which took us across both states to plant hundreds of fruit trees at schools, parks, and community spaces, while also distributing trees directly to households so families could grow fruit at home. We also held plantings in Texas, Pennsylvania, and Arizona, working with local groups who understand their communities and where fresh, organic food can have a direct impact on food access and education.

Working with partners dedicated to local food systems, environmental stewardship, and community resilience, and seeing trees planted in previous years thriving, reinforces why we put our trust in local partnerships and volunteers. One such volunteer reflected on the planting at Midtown Public Charter Primary School in Jackson, Mississippi:

"I really enjoyed the actual experience of just getting dirty, hands in the soil, and meeting some new people while we were doing it, but I think the coolest part of the project was that you could tell that when FTPF was explaining to the kids how the fruit trees grow, it was obvious that the students hadn't really put it together until now that the apple that they eat comes from a tree, and that that is ultimately how they get it ... That's how it starts, it was cool just seeing them go WOW, it doesn't just appear ... It starts out here ... and it was incredible watching them have the realization, and then become even more excited to plant these trees."

Revitalizing Communities in Rural Honduras. In 2025, we continued supporting community-led reforestation and food sovereignty efforts rooted in local leadership with our partners at ERIC, Radio Progreso, and SHARE. One such project took place in the community of Milpa Mojiman within the village of Morazán, led by local leader Enrique Rodriguez. As Enrique shared:

"There are no institutions like FTPF that come and donate. It is excellent because the [local] people request, enjoy, and will take care of these trees, and now families will have a diversity of fruits growing on their own lands."

This work reflects what we strive for across all our projects: communities identifying their own priorities, with fruit trees becoming lasting sources of nourishment, income, and environmental restoration.

Continued Commitment with Farmer Cooperatives in El Salvador. Our 13-year partnership with CONFRAS, SHARE El Salvador, and farmer cooperatives continues to show the importance of consistency and follow-through. At Cooperativa Estancia, for example, fruit trees planted in past years are now bearing fruit, new trees have been distributed to small-scale farmers, and trust has been built through shared work and steady commitment. Maria Inez Maria, a member of the cooperative, reflected:

"We are thankful for the trees we have received [and] for following through with the promise of helping us acquire fruit trees. We have had many organizations come and go and fall through with their promise of helping our community, but CONFRAS and FTPF followed through with their word, and we are now seeing the fruit trees bear fruit for our families."

Her words underscore how our sustained partnerships in El Salvador, not just one-time interventions, create lasting impact.

Riparian Restoration and Household Incomes in Peru. Our work with local nonprofit CONAPAC brought us back to river communities across Loreto, where we planted new trees, supported home orchards, and revisited sites planted in previous years. Amazonian communities, including Primero de Enero, Isla Tamanco, Puinahua, Manati I, and LIDA, welcomed us with warmth, knowledge, and a deep understanding of their land and its needs.

This year's work included planting in community spaces, schools, riparian areas, and home plots, while also sharing and exchanging knowledge about practices such as forest farming, graft care, and biofertilizers. These exchanges are central to the project, with our support strengthening what communities are already building.

Gretidiana Gomez Panduro, a 39-year-old mother of seven from Isla Tamanco, shared what receiving fruit trees means for her family:

"The seedlings I received give me more hope that I will have much more fruit in the future. I currently work to pay for my children's education, and I have a daughter who is studying in the city ... With these new seedlings, I will have more fruit to eat, and perhaps I will be able to send my children to school in the city so they can all become professionals. That is what I want as a mother. I am grateful for this support."

At the community of Primero de Enero, school principal Fernando Tuesta Flores reflected on the broader impact of the planting:

"The community of Primero de Enero is very grateful for this act of solidarity in coming to share this day with us and helping us plant these fruits. Thanks to this project, we will continue to have food for our children, and in this way, we seek to raise awareness about caring for our environment."

Taking Care of Previous Orchards. Some of the most affirming moments this year came not from new plantings but from visiting trees planted years ago, now mature, productive, and woven into daily life. In the community of LIDA in the Amazon of Peru, Henry Lavy Luna shared what these trees have come to mean:

"I'm very happy with the fruit I'm harvesting. Everyone here in my village now has large, fruit-bearing trees. Since we've started producing more, the animals are getting closer to the village. Perhaps in the future, we'll be able to become a tourist destination because of the animals we have and take care of."

In the United States, a one-year-old orchard at Lower Hackett Park in Easton, PA, is thriving, and in Minneapolis, MN and Redding, CA, we expanded orchards at Urban Roots and Providence Enterprises International’s Riverland Farm after seeing how previous plantings had taken hold. These sites remind us that planting is only the beginning; care, time, and attention are what allow fruit trees, and communities, to flourish.

In the coming months, we'll be sharing more updates as we launch our annual orchard survey, inviting orchard recipients to tell us how their trees are growing and how they're being used. If you are a previous recipient, you can get a head start by filling out the survey here: http://tiny.cc/orchardfollowup.

Looking Ahead. Thank you to everyone who made this year possible: our partners, volunteers, farmers, educators, students, and families who continue to show what's possible when fruit trees are planted with care, intention, and collaboration.

Looking ahead, we have a big year coming up, with dozens of community orchard plantings planned across the United States and continued work in Uganda, Peru, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.

With your help, we'll also strive to move forward on new projects, including work with refugee communities in Tanzania to support food access, and with farmers near the Ayyalur National Forest in India to help protect habitat for the near-threatened slender loris.

Lastly, we hope to share exciting news in the coming year about our Trees for Tribes program, which has been in the works for over a year, so stay tuned!

All of this is to say: we could really use your support. Please consider making a donation as we close out the year. For the 14th year in a row, more than 90 cents of every dollar contributed goes directly toward our life-sustaining, earth-greening work.

To an abundant future for all,

The FTPF Team

Links:

• Donate to FTPF
• FTPF on Facebook
• FTPF on Instagram

Dear friends,

We'd like to share two examples of our projects in the high deserts of the Southwest, where fruit trees are helping tribal communities reclaim food sovereignty and reconnect with traditional food systems.

In the spring of last year, we visited a 200+ tree orchard planted 10 years ago with the Sandia Pueblo to conduct aftercare, share knowledge, and expand the orchard with additional trees. We learned that the orchard was thriving and providing enough harvest for every tribal family to receive a bag of fresh fruit hand-delivered to their doorstep each summer. Peaches, apricots, pears, and plums — all freshly picked, organically grown, and communally owned and cared for by the Pueblo.

Also last year, we partnered with the Hozho Voices of Healing Center on the Navajo Nation to create a 30-tree and 22-berry edible landscape on their regenerative farm. Farm Manager Joshua Toddy emphasizes that orchards are essential for teaching community members how to grow, care for, and preserve fruit trees for generations as a vital step in building lasting food sovereignty.

As we have mentioned previously, federal funding pauses have temporarily slowed our tribal program expansion, yet we remain committed to planting with and supporting our tribal partners. Your support ensures that once we resume, orchards will flourish, families will have greater access to healthy foods, and Native American communities will continue reclaiming control over their food systems.

To a more equitable and abundant future,

The FTPF Team