Contents 1 Mission Statement 2 Work-In-Progress Mission Statement 2.1 More sentences from Michael 3 Mission Statements From Other Orgs 3.1 Slogans 3.2 From the Tucson Youth Mapping and Gleaning Project 3.3 From the Portland Urban Forestry Department 4 Visions From The Public 5 From Reuters Article 6 From Fallen Fruit 7 From the UE site

Mission Statement

Urban Edibles is a cooperative network of wild food foragers in Portland, OR. By creating awareness about what is available in our neighborhoods, we hope to re-establish the connection between people, environment and food.

Work-In-Progress Mission Statement

Urban Edibles is a community-driven collaboration between wild foods foragers in Portland, Oregon. Our belief is that by way of communing edible goods, urban people may develop meaningful connections with their environment and their fellow community members. Our hope is to generate discourse around local foods, urban stewardship and DIY methods of harvest.

Over the past year, we've established an interactive wild foods map of Portland, Oregon. We have included fruit and nut trees, vegetables, edible and medicinal herbs, "weeds" and more. We have encouraged foragers, land stewards and other community denizens to contribute to our map as well as an educational resource database for wild foods that appears on our site. We have held public forums to discuss everything from the ethical to logistical aspects of our project. We have organized scouting missions with one another to harvest edible goods that would perish otherwise. We are dedicated to our mission and intend to expand our resource database to include other cities in the coming year.

• Providing a resource* as our central form of action. Increasing people's awareness on their own will.

A mash up of new technologies and old knowledge.

More sentences from Michael

Urban Edibles aims to increase people's awareness of their environment. Strengthen people's connection to their surroundings, particularly in urban areas where nature often gets put in the same taken-for-granted drive-by view as mailboxes and lamp posts.

working from reuters...

People often don't think of the fruits growing on a tree in their backyard as food. "They saw them as things they had to prune and get rid of, a mess," she said.

People have had oranges growing in their backyard, but thought they were only decorative, not edible, even when older family members had originally planted them as a food source,

Mission Statements From Other Orgs

Slogans

"Using the Internet to get people off the Internet"

From the Tucson Youth Mapping and Gleaning Project

The main goal of our project is the redistribution of local food resources. There is an abundance of food in the back yards across Tucson. Nevertheless, much of this valuable resource goes to waste. This project unites the ancient practice of gleaning and technology of the 20th century to remedy this problem. The culmination of the project was a digital map of the available food resources in an urban setting. This map enabled us to organize a farmers style food exchange.

source: http://tug.bara.arizona.edu

From the Portland Urban Forestry Department

N. Urban Forestry has as its objective the cultivation and management of trees and related plants for their present and potential contribution to the physiological, sociological and economic well being of urban society. Inherent in this function is a comprehensive program designed to educate the urban populace on the role of trees and related plants in the urban environment. In its broadest sense, urban forestry is one essential component of a multi-managerial system that includes watersheds within the City, wildlife habitats, outdoor recreation opportunities, landscape design, recycling of municipal vegetative wastes and tree care in general.

source: http://www.portlandonline.com/auditor/index.cfm?c=cigdf#cid_17364

Are you an independent urban forester?

Visions From The Public

Comments from the discussion list and meetings related to the mission of this project

I think the loveliness of this site is educating the public that nature is out there providing for us if we keep it sacred, otherwise I fear a backlash from homeowners and a mistaken attitude by people that other's people property is theirs. I would like this site to actually encourage homeowners to plant more fruit and nut trees, blueberries, etc. to keep a city sustainable for wildlife also. from Jen's email

From Reuters Article

...encourage users to strike up a discourse with property owners, extending the community-building focus from their online discussion forum back into the real world.

At a time when most Americans don't eat the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables, and the Hunger Task Force estimates that 35.1 million Americans experienced food insecurity in 2005, food-sharing programs illustrate that healthy, free food is available and could be going to waste.

"I don't think buying vegetables and fruit is a priority for a lot of people," Bunsen said. The cost of these items could be off-putting for families following a strict food budget. Urban Edibles' community highlights the availability of free, healthy food, he said, and helps people who are used to shopping in grocery stores get over the hump of eating an apple that might look blemished, or realize that weeds like dandelion are actually nutritious.

Getting people to look beyond their own prejudices is another hurdle, says Big Backyard's Cockrell, adding that people often don't think of the fruits growing on a tree in their backyard as food. "They saw them as things they had to prune and get rid of, a mess," she said.

People have had oranges growing in their backyard, but thought they were only decorative, not edible, even when older family members had originally planted them as a food source, Cockrell said.

source: http://features.us.reuters.com/wellbeing/news/EFD76DB2-9932-11DC-9261-C8185C74.html

From Fallen Fruit

A SPECTER is haunting our cities: barren landscapes with foliage and flowers, but nothing to eat. Fruit can grow almost anywhere, and can be harvested by everyone. Our cities are planted with frivolous and ugly landscaping, sad shrubs and neglected trees, whereas they should burst with ripe produce. Great sums of money are spent on young trees, water and maintenance. While these trees are beautiful, they could be healthy, fruitful and beautiful.

WE ASK all of you to petition your cities and towns to support community gardens and only plant fruit-bearing trees in public parks. Let our streets be lined with apples and pears! Demand that all parking lots be landscaped with fruit trees which provide shade, clean the air and feed the people.

FALLEN FRUIT is a mapping and manifesto for all the free fruit we can find. Every day there is food somewhere going to waste. We encourage you to find it, tend and harvest it. If you own property, plant food on your perimeter. Share with the world and the world will share with you. Barter, don't buy! Give things away! You have nothing to lose but your hunger!

http://fallenfruit.org/manifesto.html

From the UE site

Some nice foliage may make Portland, Oregon a “green” city, but amongst the leaves is a surprising amount of edible food sources. On one side of town there may be a public street lined with fruit trees whose bounty gets swept in to a dumpster year after year, while on the other side some kids may be anxious to make some plum jam. This project aims to make more available the natural food sources throughout the city that go undiscovered each year. Nut trees, berry patches, unsprayed fields of dandelion roots are all welcome. We invite you to share the sources you already know of, search for new ones with your friends, and participate in our official scouting days.