Public Food Forest Map
A public food forest is a planting of fruit and nut trees, berry bushes, vines and perennial vegetables, layered like a young woodland, on land anyone can visit and harvest from. This map shows the public food forests we know of in the United States, from a single orchard guild in a city park to sites of several acres, so you can find one near you, pick in season or join a work day.
How to use the map: enter your ZIP code in the box below the map to list the 10 closest public food forests with their distance, or click a numbered circle to zoom in. If the site already has your ZIP code, it fills in for you. Click any amber pin for the address, a short description, the website and a Directions link. On a phone, tap the full-screen button (the square icon under the zoom buttons).
More maps: Community GardensSchool GardensPermaculture CoursesHomesteading GroupsFruit Festivals
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Enter a ZIP code to see the 10 closest food forests.
Know a food forest we’re missing? Send us its name, address and website through our contact form. Use the same form to tell us if a food forest on the map has closed or moved.
Where the list comes from: we started from the public food forests on our 2023 map and checked every listing against its website and other current sources in June and November 2026. In November 2026 we added sites found through city parks departments, land trusts, food forest networks such as Denver Urban Gardens and the Boston Food Forest Coalition, and local news. A new site made the map only if it is planted, open to the public and has a source from 2024 or later. Closed sites, duplicates, private homes, members-only sites and listings that turned out to be something else were removed. The map now shows 162 public food forests in 36 states. Sites from our older list that we could not confirm as still active stay on the map with a note, because a planted food forest often keeps growing after its website goes quiet. Spot something missing or out of date? Use the contact form link under the map.
What Makes a Food Forest Public?
A food forest, or forest garden, arranges trees and understory plants, most of them edible, in layers. NCAT’s ATTRA program counts up to eight vertical layers of plants and fungi, from canopy trees down to the ground. A public food forest puts that design on land open to everyone, often city, church, school or land-trust property planted and kept up by volunteers.
Two of the best known show the range. Seattle’s Beacon Food Forest sits on a 7-acre city-owned site west of Jefferson Park; volunteers planted the first trees in September 2012, and anyone may forage there. Atlanta’s Urban Food Forest at Browns Mill covers 7.1 acres on Browns Mill Road and was bought with a grant from the U.S. Forest Service’s Community Forest Program; The Conservation Fund calls it the largest public food forest in the country.
If you want the same structure at home, start with the 7 layers of a food forest and fruit tree guilds; food forests for small yards covers lots of a quarter acre or less.
How to Harvest at a Public Food Forest
Each site sets its own rules, so read the posted sign or website before you pick. Beacon Food Forest sums up the common rule: take only what you need and always leave some for others. Leave unripe fruit on the plant, stay on paths and don’t cut branches. Most public food forests also run volunteer work days (Beacon’s regular work party is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the third Saturday of each month), and a work day is the quickest way to learn what is ripe and how the site is cared for.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a public food forest?
A food forest that anyone can visit and harvest from. Like any forest garden, it layers mostly edible trees and understory plants, up to eight layers of plants and fungi in NCAT’s description, on public or community land that is open to visitors.
Can I pick fruit at a public food forest?
Usually yes, within the rules the site posts. Most ask you to take only what you will use, leave unripe fruit on the plant, stay on paths and avoid damaging trees. Rules differ from site to site, so read the sign or the website before you pick.
How do I start a food forest in my community?
Find land first: city parks departments, churches, schools and land trusts are the usual partners. Then design for your climate and plan for years of volunteer care. Our guide on how to start a food forest walks through the steps.
Why does a food forest on the map say “could not confirm”?
We checked every listing in 2026. A few sites had no current website or news, which does not prove they are gone, because planted trees outlive volunteer groups. Those pins carry a note so you can check before you travel.
How do I add a food forest to this map?
Use the contact form link under the map and send the name, address and website. Use the same form to tell us if a food forest has closed or moved.
Sources and Further Reading
- NCAT ATTRA (hosted by the USDA National Agroforestry Center): Community Forest Gardens: Case Studies Throughout the United States — forest garden layers.
- Beacon Food Forest: About and Work Parties.
- City of Atlanta AgLanta: About the Urban Food Forest at Browns Mill.
- The Conservation Fund: Urban Food Forest at Browns Mill.
- Food Forest Nursery: our 2023 map listings, re-checked against each site in June and November 2026.