Urban Foraging

Keep an eye out for loquats on neighborhood trees in late winter and early spring. Illustration by Jenna Alexander.

San Marco is one of Jacksonville’s older urban neighborhoods and has a grocery store, dozens of restaurants and six — SIX! — ice cream shops. That is my home neighborhood, and yet my favorite spot to grab a snack is the mulberry tree on Hendricks Avenue.

Urban foraging, the act of gathering food for free, is cool. Mulberries, loquats, figs and blackberries are the most common kinds of fruit in my neighborhood, and I have some delicious recipes for dandelion leaves and dollar weed. Obviously, I don’t take from other people’s yards, but sometimes, if I see a neglected tree, a conversation can lead to a “fruitful” partnership. Or I’ve found kindred-spirit neighbors; fruit can feed the soul as well as the body.

Depending on the season, I might find elderberry and persimmon as well — they were part of this year’s City of Jacksonville Greenscape January tree giveaway. You can add to the richness of the city by participating in this annual event and planting yours on the street to share.

There are many places to learn more about what you might see locally or to find your own snack spot. At the University of North Florida (UNF), students vie for the figs that ripen in summer, and the Potager Garden, located near the café, is affectionately known as the “snack trail” as visitors are encouraged to sample the seasonal crops. The UNF Botanical Garden offers monthly tours and its webpage lists plant locations. If you are in Springfield, you can join the Overalls Farm UPick community or support their efforts to bring more urban farms to more neighborhoods — like foraging, but sanctioned.

On the Northside, at Eartha’s Farm & Market and the Clara White Mission, check out (but don’t harvest!) the 300 plants obtained through an urban agriculture grant and a donation from the Good Shepherd Church in Riverside. You’ll find blueberries, blackberries, grapes, apples, figs, persimmons, nectarines, plums, peaches and citrus. Their farmers’ market is on Saturdays and you will often find a selection from the nearby garden beds. Plants were purchased from another Northside treasure, Eat Your Yard Jax, a nonprofit edible and medicinal plant nursery and educational center open to the public.

Northeast Florida is fertile ground for foragers, and they’re always looking for new spots. If you want to contribute to the foraging community, log your best snack spots on the Falling Fruit app to share them with others. Happy snacking!