Festival Beach Food Forest growing in east Austin

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A public food forest near Lady Bird Lake is growing.

The planning phase of the Festival Beach Food Forest expansion finished in June, and the second phase is underway. The volunteer-led project entered a new stage recently with the first of over 100 trees planted in the food forest.

The multi-year expansion project will grow the food forest from less than an acre to 3.5 acres on public land, according to the Festival Beach Food Forest.

Angelina Alanis, the nonprofit’s communications and partnerships coordinator, said the nonprofit’s expansion vision is to add community education and workshops to better integrate the food forest into daily living.

“We have always had a mission of providing free food and free medicine, but it’s also about providing a space for people to have fun and celebrate and come together with community,” Alanis said.

Monthly events include Sunday yoga in the forest and plant walks on the first Saturday of the month.

Phase two is expected to cost $400,000, and the nonprofit has raised $40,000 through grants and donations so far. This includes a city-funded Food and Climate Equity grant awarded in September.

Festival Beach Food Forest opened in 2012 as the city’s first public food forest on city-owned parkland north of Lady Bird Lake. Its location is next to housing for low-income seniors in Austin and adjacent to the Festival Beach Community Garden .

The nonprofit is looking for weekday and weekend volunteers to help grow and maintain the food forest. Because the food forest is nearly tripling in size, the number of volunteers needs to grow accordingly, Alanis said.

Volunteers give about 650 hours of work per month from about 50 core volunteers and 150 more rotating volunteers.

Volunteer times and information is online. Needs range from mulching and weeding to more administrative needs like fundraising, community outreach and grant applications.

What is a food forest?

Food forests are forest ecosystems that connect communities to nature with fruit and nut-producing trees, herbs, berries, mushrooms and other produce, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture .

Public food forests vary in size, from a single tree to a forest that can yield substantial quantities, according to Project Food Forest . They mimic ecosystems and plant patterns found naturally.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.