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The Fruitful City: The Enduring Power of the Urban Food Forest
Examining the roots and fruits of the urban foodscape
Our cities are places of food polarities — food deserts and farmers’ markets, hunger and food waste, fast food delivery and urban gardening. While locavores and preserving pros abound, many of us can’t identify the fruit trees in our yards or declare a berry safe to eat. Those plants — and the people who planted them — are often forgotten.
In The Fruitful City, Helena Moncrieff examines our relationship with food through the fruit trees that dot city streets and yards. She tracks the origins of these living heirlooms and questions how they went from being subsistence staples to raccoon fodder. But in some cities, previously forgotten fruit is now in high demand, and Moncrieff investigates the surge of non-profit urban harvest organizations that try to prevent that food from rotting on concrete and meets the people putting rescued fruit to good use.
As she travels across Canada, slipping into backyards, visiting community orchards, and taking in canning competitions, Moncrieff discovers that attitudinal changes are more important than agricultural ones. While the bounty of apples is great, reconnecting with nature and our community is the real prize.
Our cities are places of food polarities — food deserts and farmers’ markets, hunger and food waste, fast food delivery and urban gardening. While locavores and preserving pros abound, many of us can’t identify the fruit trees in our yards or declare a berry safe to eat. Those plants — and the people who planted them — are often forgotten.
In The Fruitful City, Helena Moncrieff examines our relationship with food through the fruit trees that dot city streets and yards. She tracks the origins of these living heirlooms and questions how they went from being subsistence staples to raccoon fodder. But in some cities, previously forgotten fruit is now in high demand, and Moncrieff investigates the surge of non-profit urban harvest organizations that try to prevent that food from rotting on concrete and meets the people putting rescued fruit to good use.
As she travels across Canada, slipping into backyards, visiting community orchards, and taking in canning competitions, Moncrieff discovers that attitudinal changes are more important than agricultural ones. While the bounty of apples is great, reconnecting with nature and our community is the real prize.
240 pages, Paperback
First published April 3, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 6, 2018
While on its face, The Fruitful City appears to be a simple story of a journalist’s interest in fruit trees and the community organizations that have sprung up to make use of their harvest which would be a pleasant, pastoral read. However, between stories of picking apples and smuggling live crabs through customs, Helena Moncrieff actually weaves a far more resonant story of how society has become disconnected with “the commons” as they existed for much of human history up until the recent past.
Fruit trees when properly cared for are prolifically fecund. A single tree produces more than a single family can consume, so fruit trees historically were seen as a common good, a source of plenty available to all members of a community. However, with changes in society, agricultural production, and the western diet, our relationship with the commons has become disconnected. Urban farming largely disappeared in the postwar era in Canada as well as the United States, a change that coincided with the industrialization of agriculture and its emphasis on monoculture as well as the growth of dual income households and the dislocation of household food preparation from the family kitchen to industrial food processors. As families became used to sourcing their food from a box in a supermarket and thereby from farms and processing factories thousands of miles away, they forgot the potential of food production possible from their own backyards. Why spend hours tending to your own raspberry bush when you can pick up a package for $4 at the store? This, coupled with an insidious distrust of fruit trees left in the commons (don’t pick from the cherry tree in the park, they’re probably poisonous), has left our society with little of the food knowledge that we used to have which in turn reinforces our reliance on industrial food companies. Moncrieff shows that by simply appreciating the bounty of fruit trees that already surround us urban dwellers, we can take one important step back towards reconnecting with what we eat.
For years, I have been wanting to add a couple fruit trees to my backyard but have never committed. I started The Fruitful City thinking that it would give me the right kick in the pants to start my own tiny orchard, but I wasn’t expecting such a compassionate argument for binding society back with the commons. Moncrieff’s central thesis could pair nicely with Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community: the idea that society has become so insular and isolated that we would rather witness our neighbors’ apples rot on the ground than take the effort of introducing ourselves and asking to pick the neglected harvest. This was a pleasurable and hopeful read that is about so much more than fruit, but also, delightfully, about fruit.
(A copy of this book was generously provided to me from ECW Press through Goodreads Giveaways)
Fruit trees when properly cared for are prolifically fecund. A single tree produces more than a single family can consume, so fruit trees historically were seen as a common good, a source of plenty available to all members of a community. However, with changes in society, agricultural production, and the western diet, our relationship with the commons has become disconnected. Urban farming largely disappeared in the postwar era in Canada as well as the United States, a change that coincided with the industrialization of agriculture and its emphasis on monoculture as well as the growth of dual income households and the dislocation of household food preparation from the family kitchen to industrial food processors. As families became used to sourcing their food from a box in a supermarket and thereby from farms and processing factories thousands of miles away, they forgot the potential of food production possible from their own backyards. Why spend hours tending to your own raspberry bush when you can pick up a package for $4 at the store? This, coupled with an insidious distrust of fruit trees left in the commons (don’t pick from the cherry tree in the park, they’re probably poisonous), has left our society with little of the food knowledge that we used to have which in turn reinforces our reliance on industrial food companies. Moncrieff shows that by simply appreciating the bounty of fruit trees that already surround us urban dwellers, we can take one important step back towards reconnecting with what we eat.
For years, I have been wanting to add a couple fruit trees to my backyard but have never committed. I started The Fruitful City thinking that it would give me the right kick in the pants to start my own tiny orchard, but I wasn’t expecting such a compassionate argument for binding society back with the commons. Moncrieff’s central thesis could pair nicely with Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community: the idea that society has become so insular and isolated that we would rather witness our neighbors’ apples rot on the ground than take the effort of introducing ourselves and asking to pick the neglected harvest. This was a pleasurable and hopeful read that is about so much more than fruit, but also, delightfully, about fruit.
(A copy of this book was generously provided to me from ECW Press through Goodreads Giveaways)
October 8, 2024
Lovely book
April 5, 2018
This book will make you look differently at your urban landscape. Those shrubs and trees that add the green backdrop to your selfies are actually edible. Who knew?
Well, Moncrieff clearly knows. She takes you from coast to coast exploring different dimensions of food production in the forgotten land in cities. There's the berries on bits of land near subway stops, but mostly there's the bounty from the fruit trees in people's backyards.
That's where troops of volunteers mobilize to pick the fruit when homeowners are unable or unwilling to do so. And we also follow some of that fruit -- to a food bank and to Moncrieff's own kitchen. Each chapter ends with a recipe, prefaced with a short story about where it came from.
As a gardener, I've grown and picked my share of fruit, but until I read this book, I had never considered the hidden produce available in a city. Nor had I considered the politics or the social issues around its harvesting. This book made me pause and think. It raises important issues in the broader discussions around food security and sustainability in Canada.
Finally, if you don't read it, how will you ever find out about the Supreme Gleaners?
Well, Moncrieff clearly knows. She takes you from coast to coast exploring different dimensions of food production in the forgotten land in cities. There's the berries on bits of land near subway stops, but mostly there's the bounty from the fruit trees in people's backyards.
That's where troops of volunteers mobilize to pick the fruit when homeowners are unable or unwilling to do so. And we also follow some of that fruit -- to a food bank and to Moncrieff's own kitchen. Each chapter ends with a recipe, prefaced with a short story about where it came from.
As a gardener, I've grown and picked my share of fruit, but until I read this book, I had never considered the hidden produce available in a city. Nor had I considered the politics or the social issues around its harvesting. This book made me pause and think. It raises important issues in the broader discussions around food security and sustainability in Canada.
Finally, if you don't read it, how will you ever find out about the Supreme Gleaners?
January 9, 2022
The best application for this book, that I can think of is to read as a travel guide for touring Toronto as a urban food enthusiast. Even so, the author and those who she interviewed nearly exclusively used the fruit for baking in various ways, which I think misses much of the point. The exception to this being a chapter on a church kitchen. However, the community building and educational aspects of growing, harvesting and using fruit were there. All in all, for a short read, it provided intrigue which, I think is the beauty of journalist type reads like this.
August 14, 2018
Recommended by a friend who knows we're planting fruit trees around our neighbourhood. Inspiring stories about organizations helping urban dwellers re-connect with the treasures planted decades before, with clear-eyed accounts of the challenges facing urban orchards and their proponents. Liked the recipes at the end of chapters.
December 31, 2019
A niche market book topic, ... social history through the spread and popularity of fruit trees in the urban context... but interesting to me. Food sources and nourishment and where does your food come from? Groups finding and picking , sharing and preserving fruit. Bikes and people power, linked with the ease of social media. And a great colourful retro style, front cover graphic. Nice.
August 4, 2020
Engaging writing that sucked me into the story of urban fruit trees and kept my attention for 200 pages. I finished this book in 2 days - it was just too good to put down! I also loved that as a Canadian, the author talked about the urban homesteading and fruit culture in a country other than the US. I really want to pick fruit off my neighbor's tree.
June 4, 2021
A toronto book about urban foraging. Although I am aware of many of the organizations in this book, I enjoyed the stories. Wish the recipes were more linked to the stories.
May 17, 2018
This was an unusual book, and not something I would normally read so far I have only read a few pages, and already the authors sense of humour Is revealed ! The Introduction was my favourite chapter about the fig tree as It set a foundation for the rest of the book In my opinion. There our Fruit recipes at the end of each chapter don't think I would make any though as none of them really appeal to me !
I learnt the following from reading this book that community gardens Increase real estate values,and Social Interaction. One of the earliest recipes improved health,and cured ailments (Broth) the Year was 1140 AD (Latin Culinary History).
It also mentions Canning which I have never tried before, and also about the Bernadin company which Is over a 100 yrs old,and that they make Mason jars that was an Interesting fact... I also read that In Japan they have tree assisted Therapy which promotes an accessory to a full sensory experience with the hands touching the bark, and wind blowing around the leaves and through the trees, It Is a tree climbing school and that the 1st paraplegic Person ever learnt to climb a tree In fact Japan has been a pioneer In tree therapy.
In Chapter six The Withering of the Vine I felt empathy when both parent's passed away and when the family t were clearing the house, they found recipe's left behind In a drawer full of odd scraps of paper, and a home made recipe book where the pages had been been used a lot and had become fingered and oily,the best one's where kept and made Into a book for each family member. Each sister took something that was left behind to remember their mother by, a well worn ceramic mixing bowl,a rolling pin with one handle missing and a glass fruit bowl.
My own experience with fruit has been very little we had apple tree's when I was a toddler and my parent's used to use the apple tosser to bring them down with a long stick with a spiral metal cone to catch them with, not sure If we cooked them or not we probably did ! In my 3rd hse the neighbour's had a walnut tree that overhung our garden wall , Walnut's have a soft mush like casing that covered the hard nuts ,they tasted very good. When I went camping in Greece years later,I remember how I stepped out of my tent and was among the orange and lemon groves a wonderful sight to see which I have never forgotten . My boyfriend used to bring mango's sometimes when he came to see me (He Is now my husband !)
The only thing I found distracting when reading this book was for me, was the over use of hyphens In the whole book which I found annoying .Also should It not be Governor General's Instead of 16 Governors General ? !!
Nice cover on book,good print , comprehensive Info at back of book on each chapter , and names and address of Fruit network . Colourful ECW pins included maybe to represent fruits and a bookmark ... Thank's for letting me review this book...
I learnt the following from reading this book that community gardens Increase real estate values,and Social Interaction. One of the earliest recipes improved health,and cured ailments (Broth) the Year was 1140 AD (Latin Culinary History).
It also mentions Canning which I have never tried before, and also about the Bernadin company which Is over a 100 yrs old,and that they make Mason jars that was an Interesting fact... I also read that In Japan they have tree assisted Therapy which promotes an accessory to a full sensory experience with the hands touching the bark, and wind blowing around the leaves and through the trees, It Is a tree climbing school and that the 1st paraplegic Person ever learnt to climb a tree In fact Japan has been a pioneer In tree therapy.
In Chapter six The Withering of the Vine I felt empathy when both parent's passed away and when the family t were clearing the house, they found recipe's left behind In a drawer full of odd scraps of paper, and a home made recipe book where the pages had been been used a lot and had become fingered and oily,the best one's where kept and made Into a book for each family member. Each sister took something that was left behind to remember their mother by, a well worn ceramic mixing bowl,a rolling pin with one handle missing and a glass fruit bowl.
My own experience with fruit has been very little we had apple tree's when I was a toddler and my parent's used to use the apple tosser to bring them down with a long stick with a spiral metal cone to catch them with, not sure If we cooked them or not we probably did ! In my 3rd hse the neighbour's had a walnut tree that overhung our garden wall , Walnut's have a soft mush like casing that covered the hard nuts ,they tasted very good. When I went camping in Greece years later,I remember how I stepped out of my tent and was among the orange and lemon groves a wonderful sight to see which I have never forgotten . My boyfriend used to bring mango's sometimes when he came to see me (He Is now my husband !)
The only thing I found distracting when reading this book was for me, was the over use of hyphens In the whole book which I found annoying .Also should It not be Governor General's Instead of 16 Governors General ? !!
Nice cover on book,good print , comprehensive Info at back of book on each chapter , and names and address of Fruit network . Colourful ECW pins included maybe to represent fruits and a bookmark ... Thank's for letting me review this book...
August 26, 2024
In The Fruitful City, journalist Helena Moncrieff discussed the salient yet relatively obscure role of urban agriculture in the culture, community, and survival of Canadian cities. Despite the importance of agriculture and fruit cultivation to local immigrants and Canadian families in the past, food illiteracy, according to this book, has become more prevalent with industrialization. The book described how ouseholds today struggle to identify fruit trees, use deformed fruits, and sustainably can, process, and cook homemade meals themselves. Moncrieff then discussed the variety of individuals, nonprofits, and movements intended to counter the food waste, food insecurity, and food illiteracy caused as a result of our lack of knowledge of fruit cultivation in urban areas.
While urban agriculture may sound like a dry niche topic, this book proved otherwise! The author's enthusiasm and curiosity was contagious. I loved how diverse and balanced this book's research was: it did not just include historical references and citations to pre-existing scholarly works; it also revolved around the observations, interviews, and anecdotes of the author herself. This made the somewhat niche and obscure topic more captivating and pertinent. Being able to balance both the history of fruit cultivation and the current status of fruit cultivation also made this book more compelling. Additionally, it was nice how the author varied not only the sources but also the topics of research: while she did make references to the role of notable historical figures like Samuel de Chaplain in introducing fruits like apples to the Americas, she also discussed other lesser known individuals, such as immigrant families like Francesco, who planted a fig tree that still remained while the book was being written.
I also enjoyed how The Fruitful City discussed the various solutions, nonprofits, and initiatives undertaken to reduce hunger, waste, and food illiteracy. For instance, one initiative the author described was creating a community orchard in urban areas, which could address food waste since multiple people shared the orchard, as opposed to having a private orchard that would produce excessive fruit for a single household. Fruit-picking initiatives and nonprofits described in this book could also increase food literacy and reduce food waste in private orchards, with the permission of the property owners. The classes, tours, and competitions described in this book about canning, processing, and identifying fruit could also be simple yet effective ways to combat these issues.
The Fruitful City was an excellent introduction to a relatively obscure and niche topic. It was very eloquent and well-researched.
While urban agriculture may sound like a dry niche topic, this book proved otherwise! The author's enthusiasm and curiosity was contagious. I loved how diverse and balanced this book's research was: it did not just include historical references and citations to pre-existing scholarly works; it also revolved around the observations, interviews, and anecdotes of the author herself. This made the somewhat niche and obscure topic more captivating and pertinent. Being able to balance both the history of fruit cultivation and the current status of fruit cultivation also made this book more compelling. Additionally, it was nice how the author varied not only the sources but also the topics of research: while she did make references to the role of notable historical figures like Samuel de Chaplain in introducing fruits like apples to the Americas, she also discussed other lesser known individuals, such as immigrant families like Francesco, who planted a fig tree that still remained while the book was being written.
I also enjoyed how The Fruitful City discussed the various solutions, nonprofits, and initiatives undertaken to reduce hunger, waste, and food illiteracy. For instance, one initiative the author described was creating a community orchard in urban areas, which could address food waste since multiple people shared the orchard, as opposed to having a private orchard that would produce excessive fruit for a single household. Fruit-picking initiatives and nonprofits described in this book could also increase food literacy and reduce food waste in private orchards, with the permission of the property owners. The classes, tours, and competitions described in this book about canning, processing, and identifying fruit could also be simple yet effective ways to combat these issues.
The Fruitful City was an excellent introduction to a relatively obscure and niche topic. It was very eloquent and well-researched.
April 7, 2025
“The Portuguese have a saying: he who wants to leave nothing to his heirs plants an orchard of peaches” (203).
This book is a passion project that drew me in for the ride. It’s filled with random facts and tangents, almost like fruit and branches from a tree. So, I’ll just get out my reason for taking off a star now - I got whiplash sometimes from how rapidly and arbitrarily it seemed to move from one topic/person/time period to another. But the ride was worth it.
Opening up with an affable Italian who immigrated to Canada and brought along his Fig tree, the book went on to connect the wide world of people that fruit trees have brought together in this particular moment across Canada - sprinkled with historical fun facts and anecdotes throughout. I appreciated the way that Helena Moncrieff balanced the challenges and joys that fruit trees bring, effectively addressing a romantic topic without romanticizing it. What she covered was massive: immigration (the movement of people, cultures and the trees themselves across the seas) played a part throughout; organizations that connect homeowners with trees, volunteers who want to pick them, and organizations that benefit from them; organizations that receive these fruit and try to figure out what the heck to do with them; organizations and governments that are expanding local orchards and the benefits and challenges that arise; and the topic of food literacy - or rather illiteracy - and movement in that field. Some fun facts here and there - birds preferring dead trees because their branches are more stable, Jewish and Christian beliefs against cutting down fruit trees, Wassail and Ukrainian literature, jamming and fun recipes that I might try someday. ‘Twas fun!
Thank you to Class bookstore in Houston, where I discovered this book about a year ago. I planted it on my bookshelf and it was finally time to read it - it didn’t disappoint.
This book is a passion project that drew me in for the ride. It’s filled with random facts and tangents, almost like fruit and branches from a tree. So, I’ll just get out my reason for taking off a star now - I got whiplash sometimes from how rapidly and arbitrarily it seemed to move from one topic/person/time period to another. But the ride was worth it.
Opening up with an affable Italian who immigrated to Canada and brought along his Fig tree, the book went on to connect the wide world of people that fruit trees have brought together in this particular moment across Canada - sprinkled with historical fun facts and anecdotes throughout. I appreciated the way that Helena Moncrieff balanced the challenges and joys that fruit trees bring, effectively addressing a romantic topic without romanticizing it. What she covered was massive: immigration (the movement of people, cultures and the trees themselves across the seas) played a part throughout; organizations that connect homeowners with trees, volunteers who want to pick them, and organizations that benefit from them; organizations that receive these fruit and try to figure out what the heck to do with them; organizations and governments that are expanding local orchards and the benefits and challenges that arise; and the topic of food literacy - or rather illiteracy - and movement in that field. Some fun facts here and there - birds preferring dead trees because their branches are more stable, Jewish and Christian beliefs against cutting down fruit trees, Wassail and Ukrainian literature, jamming and fun recipes that I might try someday. ‘Twas fun!
Thank you to Class bookstore in Houston, where I discovered this book about a year ago. I planted it on my bookshelf and it was finally time to read it - it didn’t disappoint.
February 19, 2019
Neat book that largely focuses on Toronto's urban landscape as an agricultural one as well. Examining everything from community efforts to municipal/provincial legislation coast to coast, Moncrieff really involves herself in her research and highlights the work of various local programs aimed at heightening food literacy, community interaction and environmental sustainability in Canadian urban landscapes.
I enjoyed the fun anecdotes, NFP shoutouts, recipes and illustrations peppered throughout the book. Overall, a very informative piece of CanLit that leaves me excited for the Spring.
I enjoyed the fun anecdotes, NFP shoutouts, recipes and illustrations peppered throughout the book. Overall, a very informative piece of CanLit that leaves me excited for the Spring.
March 17, 2024
delicious read
An exploration of the history of urban fruit trees in Toronto and how modern gleaners and community organizers are trying to preserve the knowledge and bounty of the fruit. Not a how-to, but a look at motivations, strategies, and the struggles associated with. Motivational and aspirational, but not sugar-coated.
An exploration of the history of urban fruit trees in Toronto and how modern gleaners and community organizers are trying to preserve the knowledge and bounty of the fruit. Not a how-to, but a look at motivations, strategies, and the struggles associated with. Motivational and aspirational, but not sugar-coated.
November 13, 2019
Interesting read about fruit trees in Toronto, immigrants bringing bits of home with them and people working to not waste fruit and other resources. Great look at innovative ways to use unwanted produce.
January 11, 2025
A beautiful complex yet simple book. The way it’s written is very easy to understand and empathize with, while still conveying relevant historical events and call for social actions. Also contains a few recipes :))
October 24, 2018
The author takes the reader on a walk through the hidden orchards and secret gardens in Toronto.
June 29, 2022
Very informative. I wish it covered more cities than just Toronto, but it was fascinating to read and very engaging.
September 21, 2024
Terrific book about an urban fruit share similar to Portland's Fruit Tree project.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews